


Slytherin Toy

by Dazzlious



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/F, F/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-09
Updated: 2017-04-09
Packaged: 2018-10-16 23:16:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 28,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10581531
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dazzlious/pseuds/Dazzlious
Summary: Does Severus Snape really love Hermione Granger or is she just a Slytherin toy?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from J K Rowling's fantastic books or films, I'm just borrowing and playing with them for a little while and get no monetary reward for doing so.
> 
> A/N: This is set in the seventh year of school and assumes that the end of book six and what followed never happened. Thanks to Mamacita for her editing skills and thank you to you for reading. I hope you enjoy. Dx

 

Professor Severus Snape looked out over his N.E.W.T. potions class, impressed, in spite of himself, at the concentration Hermione Granger was putting into making her potion considering the uproar that was going on around her. He had to admit that of all his current students she was the one who made the subject worth teaching, although he would never let her know that, of course. If anything, she had to work twice as hard in order to impress him; but impress him she did, time and time again.

Now, while Longbottom — how in Merlin’s name he had ever allowed Albus to talk him into keeping that boy on in his N.E.W.T. course he would never know _—_ created havoc once again, the Gryffindor princess continued calmly brewing her potion while still trying to help the boy sort out his mess. Almost everyone else had used the distraction as an excuse to stop work, especially the Slytherins in the class, of which there were thankfully not many.

‘Use _Evanesco_ ,’ Hermione whispered to Neville, who was looking in shock at the eruption in his cauldron.

She turned back to her own potion and carefully stirred five times counter-clockwise, then a quarter-turn clockwise, before adding the dragon scales. Next to her, there was another small crump as Neville’s potion exploded.

‘ _Evanesco!_ ’ Hermione said again, more urgently, but as she looked at Neville it was clear the boy wasn’t going to be able to do anything. He seemed to have gone into shock.

‘Harry, can you help Neville?’ she asked quietly. ‘What about you, Ron?’

Harry shook his head but didn’t look away from his cauldron as he said apologetically, ‘Can’t, Hermione, think mine’s going the same way as Neville’s.’

Harry had his wand over his cauldron and was obviously attempting to concentrate in an effort to stop it erupting. As Hermione glanced at Ron she realised that he, too, was on the verge of an explosion and was concentrating so hard on stopping it that he hadn’t even heard her. 

Hermione looked down at her own potion. She sighed and waved her wand. ‘ _Stasis_.’

She turned to Neville and waved her wand at his cauldron, from which black smoke was now billowing. An ominous bubbling noise was coming from within. The boy’s potion vanished, then Hermione turned to help Ron and Harry.

‘What do you think you are doing, Miss Granger?’ Snape asked as he suddenly loomed in front of her and Neville’s workbench. His voice was as dark as his scowl. The Slytherins sniggered as Hermione blushed, knowing she was in for a difficult time from the snarky Potions Master.

‘I . . . I was . . . trying to help Neville, sir. His potion exploded.’ Hermione’s voice sounded cowed and she didn’t look at the teacher. She knew she was on tricky ground with Snape.

‘I don’t recall telling you that you could help Longbottom with his potion, Miss Granger.’ Snape’s voice was even colder now. ‘Twenty points from Gryffindor for your presumption and for being so interfering.’

The other Gryffindors in the class all complained loudly at this blatantly unfair punishment but Hermione said nothing, knowing after all the years of unfair treatment from the Potions Master that remonstrating wouldn’t help the situation. However, small points of red blazed on her cheeks as she attempted to remain calm.

‘And what have you done to your potion?’ Snape asked icily, looking at the frozen cauldron.

‘I put it into stasis, sir,’ Hermione said in a small voice, ‘while I helped Neville.’

Snape waved his wand and the potion, cauldron and associated ingredients disappeared, leaving only an empty workbench.

‘I did _not_ ask you to put your potion into stasis, Miss Granger. That was nowhere in the instructions on how to brew the potion.’

‘No, sir. But I thought—’

Snape scowled harder than ever. ‘Miss Granger! Once again you have poked your insufferable know-it-all nose into business that doesn’t concern you. Another twenty points from Gryffindor for not following the recipe correctly for making your potion. You will obviously receive no mark for this assignment, and you can brew it again in detention with me at eight o’ clock tonight!’

Hermione looked as if she was about to cry. Everyone who knew her knew she wasn’t upset about the points taken or the detention, although she wouldn’t have been happy about them. What really stung her was having no mark awarded for her potion. Bending her head she sank into her seat, her sleeves brushing rapidly at her eyes as she tried to wipe the tears away. She wasn’t going to give Snape the satisfaction of seeing her in that state.

The taciturn teacher made his way around the classroom, clearing the rest of the potions that had been ruined. This had not been a successful class; only a handful of the students would be receiving any mark, and none would get a passing mark from him today.

As Snape sat back down behind his desk he noticed that Hermione’s head was still down. Perhaps he had overdone it this time. After all, the young woman’s quick thinking _had_ stopped Longbottom blowing up the classroom and cleverly preserved her perfectly brewed potion . . . the potion he had vanished purely out of spite. He knew he was being unfair to her, but sometimes he just couldn’t help himself.  

Letting his voice warm a couple of degrees, he said, ‘Miss Granger, I’d like to see you at the end of the lesson, please.’

Instantly, four pairs of eyes were on his, all wondering what he was up to, before looking towards Hermione to see how she would react. Hermione finally lifted her head off the table to look at him, nodding miserably. Snape noticed that her face was blotchy and red — she had been crying.

‘As this lesson has been a complete waste of time, I want you all to begin an essay about the problems of brewing an Elixir to Induce Euphoria, which you can finish for homework.’ Snape looked around at the whole class. ‘Clearly, this should not present a problem for any of you as you’ve all had first-hand experience,’ he sneered. ‘Three feet should cover it.’

He heard the groans as the students reached into bags for parchment, quills and ink.

‘There will be no need to talk,’ he reminded them as he settled back behind his desk.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Harry and Ron lingered over packing their bags as they waited for Hermione at the end of the lesson. They weren’t the only ones; Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson seemed to be taking their time, too.

‘Potter, Weasley, don’t you have classes to get to?’ Snape asked coldly, clearly having no intention of speaking to Hermione until they were alone. Draco and Pansy smirked. ‘Malfoy and Parkinson, I suggest you get to classes, too. I don’t want to hear you’ve got Slytherin House into trouble with tardiness.’ Snape’s voice was just as cold.

Their smirks faded as they grabbed their bags and the four of them headed for the door. Ron turned back to look at Hermione.

‘Go,’ she said stoically. ‘I’ll see you at lunchtime. Save me a seat.’ She gave her friends a small smile to show she was all right.

Finally, the room was empty. Snape closed the door with a wave of his wand as Hermione left her bag on the work bench and headed towards his desk.

‘Why were you so horrible to me?’ she asked as she reached the teacher, who stood up as she approached. Snape looked at her appraisingly as she spoke. ‘You know I stopped Neville from blowing up the classroom, and putting my potion in stasis was the only way to stop mine from going the same way while I helped him out.’

Snape inclined his head in agreement. ‘You’re right. I was harsh on you. I apologise.’

‘Harsh? No! Harsh is having a go at me for helping Neville when you know I stopped a big accident. But you went _way_ beyond that. You took forty points from Gryffindor and gave me a detention.’ Hermione glared at the Potions Master. ‘And worse still, you vanished my perfectly brewed potion and gave me no mark for it!’ Her voice had risen to fever pitch and the points of red were back in her cheeks as her eyes flashed with fury. ‘That’s not harsh, that’s downright fucking sadistic!’

Snape smiled and grabbed Hermione’s shoulders, holding her tight as he pulled her to him.

‘I’m sorry, love,’ he said soothingly as he kissed the top of her head. ‘You’re right, I went too far.’ He tilted her face up as his lips found hers. ‘I just can’t help myself sometimes,’ he whispered before kissing her deeply.

‘Five points to Gryffindor,’ he said after the kiss had finished. ‘You see, I can give as well as take away.’ He grinned.

Hermione shook her head. ‘I don’t think that counts, though, does it?’ She still sounded annoyed.

‘Of course it does. I can give points for anything. I thought you knew that. How else do you think Gryffindor ended up almost three hundred points ahead of anyone else last month even taking into account the number of points Potter and Weasley managed to lose between them?’ He smirked.

A little mollified, Hermione gave a small chuckle. ‘If I’d realised the easiest way to win the House Cup was to give you a blowjob, I’d have done it years ago. So how many points do I get for each thing, then?’

Snape gave a dark smile. ‘I’m not telling you that. But some things are definitely worth more than others.’ He winked at her salaciously.

Hermione pulled away from him. ‘I’m still not happy about getting no mark for my potion,’ she said petulantly.

Snape gave a loud, put-upon sigh. ‘Oh, Hermione, if you don’t get a mark for the rest of the year you’re still going to have enough to get an Outstanding in your N.E.W.T., don’t worry about it.’

‘But I was enjoying making the potion,’ Hermione retorted.

Snape nodded. ‘I know that, which is why you’ll be making it tonight in detention.’

‘So that wasn’t just because you wanted to get me alone for a few more hours?’ Hermione asked, sounding surprised.

Snape shrugged. ‘That, too, of course. But I do want to see you finish the potion. It looked excellent, from what I could see. Anyway, I’m sure you’ll make up your score with the essay. But please, no more than three feet, love. I have enough to do with reading everyone else’s crap essays without having to trawl through an extra couple of feet from you, however entertaining it might be.’

‘I’ll try,’ Hermione promised. ‘But you know sometimes I can’t help it when I get a theory or point I want to discuss.’

Snape chuckled. ‘I know that. Well, just be aware that if you write over three feet I shall expect you to read it out loud to me, so just remember that before you use all those long words.’

Hermione punched him on the arm. ‘I have an extremely good vocabulary, thank you very much, and I have no trouble pronouncing the words I write.’ She looked at the clock. ‘I have to go. I need to get to Herbology . . . if you’ve finished apologising to me, that is?’

Snape pulled her into a kiss once more. ‘I’ll see you at eight o’ clock,’ he said smoothly.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Hermione ran across the lawn towards the greenhouses. She knew it was unlikely she would get into trouble from Professor Sprout for being late once she explained how she had been kept behind by Professor Snape, but she didn’t like to be late to lessons. She slowed as she saw the back of the class still heading across the grass and soon reached Draco Malfoy, who had stopped to wait for her. Hermione stopped and bent over, trying to get her breath back.

‘God, I’m unfit,’ she said as Draco took her bag from her while she wheezed. ‘Mind you, that’s a long bloody run all the way from the dungeons.’

‘Perhaps you need to get more exercise,’ Draco said wickedly, winking lewdly at her as he passed the bag back to her. ‘What did old Snape say? He was a bit harsh on you today.’

Hermione laughed bitterly. ‘God, you can tell you’re a bloody Slytherin,’ she retorted. ‘A bit harsh! That’s what he said. I told him he was completely fucking sadistic.’

Draco joined in laughing with her. ‘Bet he loved that. Mind you . . . you’d know.’

Hermione rolled her eyes, shaking her head. ‘I don’t care about the points and stuff, but what he did to my potion—’

‘I don’t know why you worry. You’re going to ace the exam anyway. So did he give you a big apology or was he shitty to you?’ Draco looked concerned.

‘The big apology, of course,’ Hermione said, her cheeks reddening again.

‘Good. I know you have your thing and that’s fine out of school, but he shouldn’t do it in classes.’

Hermione gave a snort of laughter and shook her head as if in amazement. ‘Draco, he’s always treated me this way, ever since I started at Hogwarts. It’s only now I get an apology when he goes too far. He used to go out of his way to upset me.’ Draco looked unconvinced. ‘How much notice did you take?’ Hermione asked seriously. ‘You used to delight in the fact that he was tearing me off a strip, remember?’

Draco looked rueful. ‘Yeah, you’re right, I suppose. I never really thought about it before. I guess I notice it more now, you know?’

Hermione hoisted her bag over her shoulder, then pulled on his arm. ‘Come on, we’d better go. Everyone else has gone in.’ She looked ahead, then said a little less happily, ‘Oh, no, it looks like we’re in Greenhouse Three. That doesn’t bode well. Are you going to be my partner today?’

Draco smiled lasciviously. ‘I’ll be your partner any time you want me, Hermione. You know you only have to ask.’

Hermione shook her head again. ‘Come on, Romeo. Let’s go and re-pot some Mandrakes . . . if we’re lucky.’

They both grimaced, then headed off towards the greenhouse door.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Hermione lay on her bed, thinking back to when it had all started. For years she, Ron and Harry had been inseparable, spending all their time together, helping each other out of trouble and being picked on by the evil Slytherins — Malfoy, his goons, even his girlfriend Parkinson — and being persecuted by snarky Professor Snape, the dark and brooding Potions Master who was also Head of Slytherin House.

But then Ron had joined Harry on the Quidditch team, and the time the three of them spent together had grown less frequent. Most evenings Harry and Ron were out practising, while Hermione sat in the common room, or more commonly the Library, doing her homework and generally researching topics of interest.

It was during one of these evenings of boredom that she had signed up to help Professor Snape with a project he was working on, believing that whilst the man was a bully and probably the most unpleasant person she had ever met, with the possible exception of the Malfoy family, he was an excellent potions maker and could teach her a lot outside of the curriculum, given half a chance, which would be useful as she was considering training to become a Healer when she left school.

Harry and Ron had baulked at her decision, but Hermione wasn’t one to miss out on a golden opportunity just because of a personality clash. And so one evening, whilst her friends were off practising Quidditch, she had found herself in a classroom with Draco Malfoy, Pansy Parkinson, Ernie MacMillan and Professor Snape.

The students were split into pairs, and Hermione and Ernie naturally gravitated towards each other as neither relished working, or more likely battling, with a Slytherin, and for a few weeks they worked on the research for the project perfectly happily.

Then Ernie caught the flu and ended up in the Hospital Wing, leaving Hermione on her own — still researching, but now having to put up with sly digs from the Slytherins, who complained constantly about having to work with a Mudblood.

Snape, biased as he was towards his own House and always scornful of Hermione anyway, let them bitch, and several evenings finished with Hermione either close to expulsion from wanting to hex them all into oblivion or running off before they could see the tears they had caused.

She was astonished when a few short weeks later only she and Draco were left on the project. More surprising and infinitely creepier was the way Draco had begun acting towards her. Instead of the brash insults he had always thrown her way he was complimentary and friendly — if anything, over-friendly — occasionally touching her arm or grabbing her hand.

her friend. He was their nemesis, and Ron and Harry would definitely not be pleased with her _not_ He even offered to walk her back to her common room one night, which she refused point-blank to even consider. Draco Malfoy was socialising with him for however brief a time.

At first, her snub seemed to annoy the boy, but soon he was treating her turn-downs as a joke, hinting that she would eventually give in to his charms. But this was only in the project. Outside of that, he was as mean and small-minded as ever, seeming to take even greater pleasure in putting her down when she was with her friends.

Then, finally, the day came when she was the only attendee. At first, Hermione assumed Professor Snape would cancel the project, with so few volunteers to help, but instead, he seemed pleased it was just the two of them. The slackers had been culled and now they could go forward, the Potions Master confident that his assistant was as serious about the project as he.

Hermione wasn’t sure when the uneasy truce between them turned into something more; when the sarcastic and biting comments became compliments; when the snarky ice cold demeanour that was all she had ever known of her teacher was lowered to reveal a warmer, far more pleasant side. At some point during their collaboration Hermione realised she no longer felt so antagonistic towards Professor Snap; in fact, she rather enjoyed his company and acerbic wit.

Of course, this didn’t extend outside of the project, either. In classes he was still the same snarky bastard he had always been; still treating her as if she was some sort of pond life. In fact, if anything, he seemed to pick on her even more often than before. But when they were alone he was great.

Hermione wouldn’t stretch as far as to say he was kind, but he was certainly considerate, and as the project progressed she found herself wanting to spend more and more time with him, almost to the exclusion of everything else.

She tried to tell herself she was just interested in the project and wanted to make some headway with it, but the truth was that she enjoyed Snape’s company outside of the classroom and relished spending time with him.

Hermione looked at her watch. She had twenty minutes before she had to meet Harry and Ron and she didn’t want to be late. Since her life had got . . . complicated, she had to work harder than ever to fit her friends into it and any time spent with them was worth the effort.

She wondered how they would feel if they knew what her life had become, but she didn’t dare tell them. If they weren’t completely horrified and disgusted they would probably pity her, and that was something she definitely didn’t want or need. For good or ill, she had chosen her life and it was something she was just going to have to live with.

Hermione lay back on the bed, thinking once more about Professor Snape. When had their relationship moved from colleagues to something more — to something sexual? She couldn’t remember exactly. It had moved so seamlessly it almost seemed as if they had always been a couple.

She tried to think back to the first time they had made love. She remembered parts of it: her surprise at how tender he could be, the intense pleasure he had given her, her guilt at being astonished that he had ever had sex before; as if he should have been waiting just for her. And she remembered his reluctance, too.

Just when he had driven her to the point of no return, when she would have done _anything_ he asked of her just as long as he kept touching her, kept giving her that exquisite pleasure, he had pulled away. It turned out that he had assumed, along with the rest of the school it seemed, that because she had been seeing Viktor Krum, the Bulgarian Quidditch player, she was no longer a virgin.

Hermione wondered why she had never heard about Krum’s reputation before or while she was with him. Although the Quidditch ace had indeed been very physical and had wanted to take the relationship further, Hermione hadn’t felt comfortable with the idea at the time and that was one of the reasons she had ended their relationship, although they had remained good friends afterwards.

When Professor Snape discovered she was still a virgin he had tried to end it, trying desperately to get rid of her; but Hermione’s stubborn insistence that the Potions Master was the only one she wanted, that she had no intention of going anywhere until he made love to her, eventually — against his better judgement, he had said at the time — persuaded him to let her stay.

And there she had been ever since. They still worked on the project — both were ever the scholars, after all, and it was important work that needed to be completed — but now the evenings finished with lovemaking rather than a wash-up of the evening’s work.

Hermione sighed. And that was when things had got complicated. When her life had turned into something she sometimes felt she had no control over any longer.

She sat up, shaking her head. She didn’t want to think about that now. She had to go and meet Ron and Harry, and if she appeared upset they would be all over her like a rash, wanting to know what was wrong.

Hermione quickly made her way to the bathroom and splashed cold water on her face before running a brush through her bushy hair, although it didn’t make much difference. Then, having straightened her tie and tucked in her blouse, she made her way downstairs to where her friends were waiting for her.

 

 

* * *

 

 

‘Don’t worry about it, I’ll be fine,’ Hermione assured Harry and Ron later that evening as they left her outside the door of the Potions classroom, ready for her detention. ‘Have a good practice. We need to beat Ravenclaw tomorrow.’

‘See you in the common room later?’ Ron asked.

‘Definitely. I don’t know if Professor Snape’s going to want to work on the project after I’ve brewed the potion, but I should be back by eleven hopefully.’

She knocked on the door to the classroom, then opened it and entered. Harry and Ron stood there, still watching her.

‘You’ll be late for practice,’ she said, shooing them away with a smile and waving as the boys took off up the corridor.

‘Good evening, Miss Granger,’ Snape said smoothly, his dark voice neutral as Hermione closed the classroom door.

‘Good evening, Professor Snape,’ Hermione replied, stopping at her usual workbench and rummaging in her bag for her Potions kit.

‘I thought we might use my private laboratory as I don’t have anyone else in detention this evening,’ Snape told her. ‘Once your potion is made we can move onto working on the project if you wish.’

Hermione nodded, picking up her kit. Snape picked up her bag and threw it easily over his shoulder as he led her into his study and through another door into his laboratory. Once the door was closed and the bag and kit had been placed on the workbench Snape pulled Hermione to him, his lips finding hers in a sensual kiss and his hands slid up beneath her jumper, seeking out her breasts.

‘I need to start the potion,’ Hermione said with a small giggle as they broke apart. She was aware of how stiff her nipples were and of the arousal between her legs.

‘Plenty of time,’ Snape crooned as he tried to pull her close again.

‘No. Plenty of time for _this_ later,’ Hermione admonished. ‘Severus, I need to brew this potion. You know I do.’

Snape nodded and, smiling, moved to let her get the equipment and ingredients. He watched silently as she worked. Hermione was a methodical and patient worker, as much of a perfectionist about preparing her ingredients as he was, never cutting corners in an effort to save time.

Once the potion was bubbling away Hermione checked her watch, then smiled up at Snape.

‘We have ten minutes. What do you suggest we do?’

Snape grunted. ‘Nothing much of interest in that time.’ Hermione walked over to him and wrapped her arms about his waist, her mouth finding his as she pressed against him. ‘Nothing that I’d like to do, anyway,’ he amended wickedly as his lips found her throat, squashing her to him as his erection pressed against her.

‘Later,’ Hermione replied breathily, arching her back as Snape’s mouth continued down her neck, his hands pulling at her jumper.

‘I need to touch you,’ he whispered as she raised her arms. The jumper was quickly pulled above her head and off and thrown onto a spare workbench.

Before she had a chance to lower her arms Snape buried his face in her breasts, enjoying the tautness that was increased by her raised arms. Hermione giggled and her arms went around his neck, stroking his shoulders as he rapidly unbuttoned the blouse. He licked her skin as his hands attacked her breasts once more, thumbs rubbing the erect nipples through the lacy material of her bra.

‘Stop it,’ she whispered, although her tone wasn’t convincing. It wasn’t helped by the fact that she was pressing herself against him, rubbing against his leg as he slid it between hers.

‘You don’t really want me to stop,’ Snape said seductively, his mouth leaving whisper-soft kisses down her throat towards her breasts. ‘In fact, I bet you’d like me to fuck you right now.’

‘No time,’ Hermione managed, and she tried to pull out of Snape’s grasp. She looked at her watch. ‘Four minutes left.’ She groaned as his hands unclasped her bra and slid round to capture her breasts, one in each hand.

‘Time enough for this, then,’ Snape replied with a grin, his mouth dipping to capture a nipple as his hand released, then pushed up her breast.

Hermione moaned loudly, her pleasure evident as she pressed into him, enjoying the feeling of his tongue laving at the hard nipple. She glanced at her watch again.

‘Let me go,’ she whispered. ‘Please.’

Reluctantly, Snape released his grip, watching with intense desire as Hermione turned back to her potion. Five stirs anti-clockwise and a quarter-turn clockwise and the dragon scales were added. She watched the mixture intently, making sure that it reacted in the way she expected. Snape watched, too, torn between enjoying watching the potion that was being brewed and the sexy young woman brewing it. In her semi-clad state, Hermione looked even more alluring than usual; he couldn’t wait to get back to making love to her.

Finally, the potion was complete, perfect as Hermione’s potions always were, and she bottled and labelled it. Snape waved his wand, vanishing the ingredients and cleaning the cauldron. He didn’t want to waste any more time; they had much better things they could be doing.

Smiling, Hermione walked towards him, calling out with excitement. Her back arched as his mouth found her breasts once more, tongue licking over one nipple then capturing the other.

‘Ten points for Gryffindor, Miss Granger,’ Snape whispered as he pressed her back against the desk, his leg pushing hers apart as he continued to play with her breasts.

‘Take me to bed, Severus,’ Hermione whispered.

Her lover picked her up and carried her carefully into his private quarters, through the sombre lounge and into the dimly lit bedroom. Depositing her on the large four-poster bed, Snape looked intently at Hermione for a moment before leaning over to kiss her once more.

‘No time for games tonight,’ he whispered as his hands found the waistband of her skirt, his long, lithe fingers undoing both the button and zip in short order. She, in turn, reached for him, moaning with frustration at the number of buttons on his frock coat. Smiling, he waved his wand lazily and the coat vanished along with the shirt he wore; a small grunt of pleasure escaping his lips as Hermione’s mouth found his own stiff nipples.

Removing her skirt, Snape concentrated on taking off her knickers, small lacy things that were in the way of that which he wanted so much. He pushed Hermione onto her back and his mouth sought her breasts again before moving slowly down her naked body, over her flat stomach and towards her bare mound, finally licking around the hard nub of her clit and making her cry out with pleasure while he revelled in the precious taste of her.

Further down his tongue explored, gently caressing her soft lips then pressing into the wetness that was the core of her. Hermione cried out, running her fingers through his hair as he continued to pleasure her and calling out his name in a breathless whisper as he brought her to climax, his long fingers joining his tongue in coaxing her over the edge.

Hermione’s hands worked desperately on Snape’s trousers, pulling them down and taking his underpants with them. This was no time for decorum. She needed to get to what lay beneath. Within seconds her hand was wrapped around Snape’s hard length and she smiled as his moans of pleasure overtook her own.

‘Fuck me, Severus, please,’ Hermione begged, guiding him towards her body, moaning with desire as the head of his erection rubbed against her.

‘With pleasure, love,’ Snape replied, and he slid into his willing partner, his own desire released in a loud, deep groan.

His arms wrapped around Hermione, holding her close as he slid in and out of her, his thrusts matching hers as the two of them worked together to give each other exquisite pleasure. Soon Hermione’s contracting muscles and her shallow, laboured breathing served to bring him close to orgasm, thrusting harder and deeper into his lover as she begged.

Hermione’s cries escalated as she hovered once more on the brink of climax, and Snape let himself go, coming deep inside her with a roar and whispering her name over and over again into her hair as he filled her with his seed. Seconds later she, too, was coming again, tears spilling down her cheeks as the emotion of the massive orgasm washed over her.

Still holding her tightly in the afterglow of their lovemaking, Snape kissed the top of Hermione’s head as he gently stroked her beautiful naked body, enjoying, as always, the feel of her soft skin beneath his fingers.

‘Lucius wants to see you,’ he said quietly. ‘He’s talking about having a party.’

‘Not another “Mistresses” party,’ Hermione groaned. ‘You know what happened last time. It was a nightmare. I spent most of the evening trying to stop Crabbe and Goyle’s dads from groping me. They seemed to be under the impression I was fair game because I was at the party.’

Snape smirked. ‘Well, most of the mistresses are. Anyway, you didn’t do too badly, as I recall.’

Hermione blushed. ‘Well, it wasn’t what I expected. I didn’t anticipate you would hand me over quite so easily.’ She sounded hurt.

‘It was your choice,’ Snape reminded her with amusement. ‘And I haven’t noticed you complaining at the attention,’ he added slyly.

‘Do I have any choice?’ Hermione asked.

Snape thought for a moment as his fingers continued to trace patterns on Hermione’s skin. ‘If you’re really unhappy about it,’ he said seriously, looking at her intently.

Hermione shook her head. ‘No, of course I’m not. How could I be unhappy with the amount of enjoyment I get? But sometimes I wish it was just you and me still. Do you love me, Severus, or is this all just some sort of a game for you?’

Snape pulled her into a kiss, long and lingering and designed to tell Hermione exactly how he felt about her, and felt her melt in his arms.

‘Of course I love you, Hermione. Surely you must know that by now?’

Hermione gave a slight frown. ‘Sometimes I wonder,’ she said honestly.

‘What makes you wonder?’ Snape asked, sounding a little confused.

‘All of it. If you love me . . . .’ She broke off worriedly.

‘We’ll stop whenever you want,’ Snape said, gently stroking her face. ‘You say the word and it stops, all of it. At the end of the day, your happiness is the important thing. Seriously, Hermione, tell me and it stops.’

‘I love you, Severus,’ Hermione told him, and she kissed him once more.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Hermione found herself thinking about Lucius’ party as she walked back to the common room to meet Harry and Ron. She had heard what Severus had said about her only needing to say she’d had enough to get her life back under control, but somehow she had a feeling it wasn’t going to be quite that simple. There was no time to consider that now, though. She had friends to talk to. Friends who knew nothing about this secret life she had got herself into.

She stepped through the portrait hole, spotting the boys immediately. They were talking to Ginny, who was sitting so close to Harry they were almost one. Hermione smiled. Surely Harry must have realised by now how much Ginny fancied him, although Ron’s over-protectiveness towards his sister would be enough to put anyone off. She dumped her bag on the floor and dropped down onto the sofa next to Ron.

‘How was detention?’ Harry asked. 

‘Well, I got the potion made, which was all I wanted to do. Perfectly, too, so I got some points back.’ Hermione said with a smile.

Ron looked surprised. ‘The greasy git gave you points? Why? He never gives points to Gryffindor.’

Hermione shrugged. ‘I think he realised he had overreacted in class. After all, I did quite literally stop Neville blowing up the dungeons. He gave me points so he didn’t have to apologise, I guess. Anyway, enough about my detention. How did practice go?’

The next thirty minutes were taken up with discussion about Quidditch, both the practice that had taken place that evening and the upcoming game against Ravenclaw the following morning. Hermione listened intently, although she couldn’t follow everything that was being discussed. As much as she enjoyed watching Quidditch, she wasn’t anywhere near as fanatical about the game as her friends were.

She stifled a yawn, surreptitiously rubbing her tired eyes. Concentrating on brewing the potion twice in one day had made her tired. The rather vigorous post-detention exercise hadn’t helped, either.

‘You all right, Hermione?’ Ron asked.

Hermione nodded as she gave another huge yawn. ‘I’m knackered,’ she admitted. ‘I think I need to go to bed. Sorry.’

Ron smirked. ‘The great greasy git worn you out, has he?’ He winked.

Hermione laughed. ‘I guess he did.’ She gave an amused frown. ‘I wonder how many people can say that?’

The others laughed, although they all looked a little disgusted at the idea.

‘See you in the morning. You are going to have breakfast before you play, aren’t you?’ Hermione asked.

Ron looked queasy suddenly, even as Ginny and Harry nodded their heads vigorously.

‘He’ll be there,’ Ginny said, patting her brother on the shoulder. ‘We don’t want him fainting in the middle of the match, do we?’

‘He’s going to be brilliant,’ Hermione said confidently with a smile. ‘He always is.’

She picked up her bag and headed for the stairs, eager to find her bed.


	2. Chapter 2

 

It was still early when Hermione woke up. Too early to get up, but she knew she wasn’t going to be able to get back to sleep. Once again her mind turned to Severus and what he had said about Lucius’ party. She was sure Severus really did love her, he had told her often enough without her having to fish. But with her life the way it was now was it any wonder she questioned it sometimes?

She remembered how shocked she had been to discover her relationship with him wasn’t quite as secret as she had imagined. In retrospect, she should have realised Draco Malfoy was keeping an eye on her, but at the time she hadn’t given it a thought. Since leaving the project Malfoy’s behaviour had returned to his usual cruel taunting, and Hermione, in turn, had ignored him as much as she could.

Memories drifted through her mind of the day she was sure had signalled the beginning of her new life; the day Malfoy had discovered her secret.

She had woken early that morning, too, and not wanting to stay in bed on such a beautiful day had put on her swimming costume and headed quietly from the dorm, careful not to wake her roommates. She loved swimming at this time of day when it was quiet and cool and she could be alone to think about things without interruption.

Hermione rushed out of the castle and down to the lake, enjoying the early morning sunshine sparkling on the water. But in her desire to get in there and start swimming she hadn’t noticed Malfoy was there, too, watching her as she pulled off her trainers and piled up her belongings on the jetty.

‘What do you think you’re doing, Mudblood?’ Draco asked as he wandered over to her.

‘Not that it’s any of your business, Malfoy,’ Hermione replied, her voice a little frosty, ‘but I’m going for a swim.’

Draco smiled nastily. ‘You’re going for a swim in the Black Lake. Are you mad?’

‘No, I’m not mad. I just like to go swimming.’

Hermione opened her bag and pulled out a flower-covered swimming cap and a hair band. She carefully tied her hair in a bun, then put the cap on her head.

‘Do you have any idea what’s in there?’ Draco asked.

‘Apart from the giant squid, you mean?’ Hermione said with a small uncaring shrug. ‘Well, of course, there’s Merpeople and Grindylows and rather a lot of fish.’

‘You know there are Grindylows in there and yet you’re still going swimming.’ Draco shook his head. ‘You Gryffindors aren’t brave, you’re fucking mental!’

Hermione laughed. ‘As long as you keep away from the reed beds in the centre you’re fine.’ She moved to the edge of the jetty, ready to dive.

‘Don’t expect me to help you when you get into trouble, Mudblood,’ Draco said dismissively.

‘Don’t worry, I don’t expect to _ever_ need your help, Malfoy,’ Hermione retorted just before she dived into the water.

Hermione swam some way under water, unaware that Draco was watching her and growing a little worried when she didn’t surface. But when she did finally emerge and saw him still watching she couldn’t resist giving him a wave, causing him to storm away angrily.

She smiled to herself, wondering if the anger was because she hadn’t drowned, then continued with her swim, knowing she was perfectly safe. At that time of day, everything within a strictly cordoned area was pretty much asleep thanks to a charm placed by Professor Dumbledore to give swimmers a chance to enjoy the water. Anything that wasn’t caught by the charm was outside of the safe area, and she knew not to go too far out. 

After her swim, Hermione headed back to her dorm to get showered and dressed for breakfast. She walked down the corridor at a brisk pace as she was cold and damp and wanted to get back to her room and a hot shower as quickly as possible.

Going this particular way was a good deal quicker than the official route but she ran the risk of getting caught out of bounds. Although Dumbledore had given the students permission to swim he probably wouldn’t be happy about her creeping around secret passages, especially ones that led close to Slytherin territory.

Hermione knew there would be punishment if she was caught but was willing to take the risk as she needed to get back to Gryffindor tower as soon as she could. She could feel the goosebumps all over her body as she walked through the school; the towel she was wearing was not doing anything to keep out the chill of the swim and the dank corridor.

She considered the chance that Severus might be patrolling the corridors and knew if he caught her she would definitely be punished, but for some reason, she found that quite a pleasurable idea and for a moment she actually found herself hoping she might run into him.

And that was exactly what had happened.

Hermione had just turned the second to last corner before she would reach safety when she saw Severus walking straight towards her. Suddenly she wasn’t quite so pleased. She wasn’t at all sure how he would react to her presence. He was usually only pleasant and loving towards her when they were alone in his private rooms, treating her as badly as he had always done whenever they were in public. But maybe at this time of day, in such a little-used place, he would be a little more forgiving even though she was still breaking school rules. That hope faded pretty quickly when she saw his visage.

‘What do you think you are doing in this corridor, Miss Granger?’ he asked her coldly, his usual scowl set firmly upon his face.

‘I’ve been swimming, sir. This is the quickest way back to Gryffindor tower,’ Hermione admitted.

‘You are aware that this corridor is out of bounds to students?’ Snape asked.

‘Yes, sir. But I was hoping I could get through without being caught. I’m freezing and really wanted to get back for a shower.’ She found herself blushing although she wasn’t quite sure why.

‘Did you indeed, Miss Granger?’ Snape said. ‘Unfortunately for you, your hope wasn’t realised.’ He smirked and she felt herself shiver, and not just from the cold. ‘Remove the towel, Miss Granger.’

‘Erm, I don’t think that’s a very good idea, sir,’ she ventured quietly.

‘And why would that be, exactly?’ Snape asked icily, clearly not liking being talked back to.

‘Because I’m naked,’ she replied, her voice still only just above a whisper.

Snape nodded and looked at her for a moment, then grinned nastily.

‘The towel, Miss Granger — take it off.’

‘Sir, I said I was naked.’

‘Yes, Miss Granger, my hearing isn’t defective. However, it appears yours may be. I said to take the towel off.’

Hermione looked into Snape’s dark, glittering eyes; then with a defiant look she loosed the towel and let it drop, standing completely naked before the teacher.

‘Very good, Miss Granger. It appears you can occasionally follow orders,’ Snape said sarcastically. ‘However, I believe you still need punishing for breaking school rules and for not obeying a teacher.’

Hermione blushed scarlet as several ideas about the way she could be punished were suddenly running around her brain. But she still wasn’t sure if Severus was playing with her or was in serious snarky teacher mode; either was possible and he wasn’t giving anything away with his actions so far. So she bit her lip, willing herself not to do anything stupid and nodded her head to show she understood.

Severus continued to look at her for a few seconds, surely gauging her arousal which had, as ever, flared as soon as she had seen him. Her nipples, already stiff from the cold, were harder than ever and she knew it didn’t stop there. Another smirk crossed his face, something she actually found rather more chilling than his scowl.

‘I want you to bend over and brace yourself against this wall, Miss Granger.’ He said it quietly, yet it was enough to make her shiver. He indicated the right-hand wall of the corridor by thumping on it. ‘You will stand with your legs just slightly apart, your head down. You are going to be spanked as your punishment for breaking rules and not obeying my command.’

Hermione felt a ripple of pleasure go through her initially at his pronouncement, but that was quickly overtaken by worry that gnawed at her insides. Severus had spanked her once before, she lying over his lap as he had slapped then soothed her reddening bottom, but that had been in the comfort and privacy of his rooms and whilst she had found the experience incredibly erotic, it had also been safe. Out here in the corridor, it suddenly seemed more dangerous, something far darker, and she wasn’t at all sure she wanted it to happen, but there was no choice unless she wanted to find herself in even worse trouble.

Before Severus had a chance to increase her punishment for not obeying him again, Hermione dropped her bag and did as he requested. She wondered what he could see with her in this position. She suspected it was everything, especially as he had made her stand with her legs apart. She waited somewhat anxiously for him to either speak to her again or start with the punishment. She didn’t have to wait long. A moment later Severus moved closer to her, his hand stroking her bottom. 

‘I’m going to spank you fifteen times, Miss Granger,’ he said, his voice dark yet controlled. ‘You are going to count the strokes and after each one, you will say the number and “thank you, sir”.’

Hermione turned her head to look at him sharply, astonished that not only was he going to hit her but he expected her to be grateful for it. He ignored her look. Almost as soon as he had retreated his hand connected with her bottom, a hard, stinging slap that made her cry out. It also made her forget she was supposed to be counting.

‘I don’t hear you, Miss Granger. Are you disobeying me once again?’

She was confused for a moment, then remembered she was supposed to be counting.

‘Oh shit, sorry. One . . . thank you, sir.’

‘You will receive an extra stroke for not counting promptly,’ Snape said humourlessly.

Hermione knew she had to set her mind straight. This was going to hurt enough without more strokes being added to the tally. Severus continued to spank her; the enjoyable soothing he had employed the previous time and that she had been hoping might be deployed this time was not happening.

She worked really hard, even though her bottom was stinging so much that it was distracting, to count as soon as the stroke finished, desperate to ensure the punishment didn’t continue for any longer than it had to. She cried out a few times, though, unable to stop herself, and was blinking back tears by the time he finally finished.

Hermione knew her bottom had to be bright red. It certainly hurt enough.

Once the punishment stopped his hands had soothed the sore skin for a few minutes, softly stroking as he spoke quietly to her, telling her he was pleased with her performance. And then she was rewarded for the pain she had just suffered.

Keeping her in the same position, Severus ran his hand down her slit, which she was sure was soaked after what he had just done to her. The spanking had been far harder than previously and had hurt like crazy, but she found it at least as arousing as the previous time.

‘You’re very wet, Miss Granger. You obviously enjoyed that as much as I did,’ Snape crooned, sounding happy. She didn’t respond because she wasn’t sure she could speak. She was still feeling a little teary. ‘I’m very pleased with you, darling.’

Hermione moaned as he slid into her. At some point he had released his erection from his trousers, and his hands covered hers as he held her against the wall, his body pressed against hers, fucking her hard and deep until they both came — she crying out sharply, her legs almost giving way; he with loud grunts that matched his thrusting.

Snape wrapped his arms around Hermione as he pulled her up, away from the wall, and his mouth found her neck and kissed her gently. After a few minutes in this position he released her, once he was sure she would be able to stay standing. He pulled her round to face him.

‘You had better get back to your House, Miss Granger. People will be getting up soon and you don’t want to get caught wearing just a towel, do you?’ he asked, sounding amused.

Hermione bent down to pick up the towel, wrapping it tightly around her. As she did so Snape retrieved her bag, handing it to her as he pulled her to him and gave her a brief but hard kiss on the lips.

‘I’ll see you at breakfast, Miss Granger. Don’t be late.’   

She returned to her dormitory as rapidly as possible, showering before any of her roommates could see her skin, reddened both from the spanking and the flush of sex. Then she hurried down to join her friends for breakfast, unable to stop the smile on her face. She was feeling good and seeing Severus sitting at the teachers’ table made her heart race a little faster.

As she sat down with Harry and Ron — a little gingerly, it had to be admitted, as her bottom was still quite sore — and helped herself to some breakfast, she looked up and realised with surprise that Malfoy was staring at her from his place at the Slytherin table. For the whole meal he stared at her constantly, a wide smirk on his face, and she found it hard to ignore.

Once breakfast was over she headed off towards Herbology, leaving Harry and Ron in the castle with a promise to meet up for lunch. The morning was warming up well and she was enjoying the feeling of the sun, warm on her skin. Her enjoyment was ruined, however, when a few minutes later she was joined by Malfoy, that smirk still writ large upon his face. He looked around slyly to make sure they weren’t likely to be overheard.

‘Do you enjoy being spanked, Granger? Does it make you horny?’

Hermione’s heart sank. Had he seen what had happened between her and Severus? He had to have done because it wasn’t the usual sort of question he would ask, and coming so soon after their interlude that morning, surely it couldn’t be a coincidence. She didn’t want to answer him so just carried on walking, hoping she wasn’t blushing to give herself away.

‘Not talking to me?’ Malfoy continued softly, his voice taunting now. ‘Should I order you to talk . . . or maybe you only like to count. Do you like to count, Granger? How does it go? Oh, yes — one, thank you, sir.’

Hermione knew she was blushing now. She could feel her face burning and she wanted to run away, wanted to cry from shame. Of all the people they could have been caught by, Malfoy had to be the worst. She was sure he wouldn’t hesitate to use it against her, probably to cause her maximum embarrassment at some vital moment; worse, it would mean her friends and everyone in Hogwarts would find out about her relationship with Severus. That wouldn’t be good, either for Severus or for their relationship. If only there were some way of keeping Malfoy quiet, of making him promise not to say anything.

Malfoy grabbed her arm, pulling her to a stop before they got any closer to the greenhouses. Hermione felt she had no choice but to see what he wanted to say. She didn’t need him shouting it out in front of everyone in the class.

‘If you like being spanked so much, I’m sure I can help you out,’ Draco said, leaning in close to whisper lasciviously in her ear. He stroked her arm gently as he talked, which made her skin creep. ‘I’m sure I can make you come just as hard as old Snape does, Mudblood. And I’d be more than happy to take control of you . . . any time you want. You just need to ask.’

Burning with embarrassment, Hermione pulled from Draco’s grip and ran away from him, no longer caring about trying to get him to keep his silence. Instead, she spent the rest of the day trying to avoid him, knowing the smirk that settled on his face every time he saw her was causing her blushes to reappear.

She was amazed that Harry and Ron hadn’t noticed, although she hadn’t spent much time with them, either, in case Malfoy felt tempted to say something to them. She was sure he would wait until the three of them were together before he did the big reveal to get the greatest possible impact.

That evening, Hermione told Severus that Malfoy knew about them and had seen them that morning but he didn’t seem to be overly concerned, even when she expressed worry about what would happen with their relationship if he told anyone. Severus seemed to think Malfoy wasn’t going to share the information, although she had no idea why he would be so convinced of that.

But Severus was right, and after that day she heard nothing further from Malfoy about spanking. Then, the following month she and Severus had been invited to Lucius Malfoy’s “Mistresses” party.

Remembering, Hermione grinned as she stretched before getting out of bed. Surely Severus must have given Gryffindor loads of points after her performance in the corridor that morning. Mind you, remembering the way her bottom had stung afterwards, she had definitely earned them.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Hermione shared a good breakfast with her friends, although Ron was so nervous he could hardly speak and had to be forced to eat, something she would never have imagined seeing; after all, normally he ate what seemed like at least his own bodyweight at every sitting. He always seemed a bit nervous before a game, but this match was an important one and Ron knew he had to do well.

She hugged him tightly. ‘You’re going to be fine, Ronald. Honestly, you’ve really got nothing to worry about.’

Ron smiled weakly as he pushed his food around his plate, still not actually eating anything. Harry shot her a smile, too, grateful to Hermione for attempting to build Ron’s confidence. Once they had finally managed to force a little food into Ron she gave both boys and Ginny another hug before they headed off towards the Quidditch pitch, promising them that she would be down for the game.

‘We need you,’ Ron whispered as he held her tightly. She was surprised to feel he was shaking from nerves.

‘You really don’t,’ she assured him with a laugh. ‘I’ll see you when you’ve won.’ She ran her hand through the boy’s red hair as she held him just as tightly. Then they pulled apart, Ron blushing furiously. ‘Go get ‘em, tiger,’ she said with a smile.

Ron nodded, still looking scared, and slowly followed his friends out of the Great Hall. Hermione looked around. She was being watched closely by Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson. With a small smile, she rose from the table to head back to her dormitory and complete her Potions essay before going to the game.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Hermione walked down the corridor, rushing a little as she was late. She had, as always, become engrossed in the essay and completely forgotten the time. She glanced at her watch. She was just going to have to be late because there was no way she was running all the way down to the Quidditch pitch.

It wasn’t as if anyone would notice, anyway. Once the team started playing they wouldn’t realise she wasn’t there and she would be able to slip in without being spotted. It wouldn’t take her long to catch up with the score as long as it wasn’t Luna doing the commentating.

She gasped as she was pulled into an alcove. Strong arms wrapped around her, pressing her back against the wall; lips, persistent and firm, found hers. When she was just as suddenly released she looked at the pale face of Draco Malfoy, who was still holding her, cutting off her escape.

‘What are you doing, Draco? I need to get to the Quidditch pitch.’

‘No, I don’t think so, Mudblood,’ Draco replied musingly with a small smile. ‘I’m sure we could find a much better way to spend the game. I mean, it’s not as if you’re going to be missed, is it?’

His lips found hers once again, questing and hard as he pressed against her. Hermione could feel the stiffness of his erection, pressed against her hip, as he kissed down her throat, making her moan gently.

‘Not here,’ she whispered.  

‘No,’ Draco agreed. ‘Come with me.’ He took her hand and led her from the alcove and along the corridor. A few minutes later the couple arrived on the seventh floor. ‘The Room of Requirement,’ Draco said with satisfaction. ‘Let’s see what it thinks we need, shall we?’

Hermione shook her head but she was smiling. ‘Okay, but we can't be long. I need to be at the Quidditch pitch before the end of the game.’

‘You will be,’ Draco promised. ‘I’ll make sure of it.’

He pushed the door open and the two of them stepped inside and looked around. Hermione couldn’t help but laugh: the main feature of the room was a huge bed.

‘Guess I know what you’re thinking of, then,’ she said.

Draco smirked. ‘You too, Mudblood,’ he said as his hands reached out to grab her breasts. ‘I know you want me as much as I want you.’

He pushed her onto the bed and his hands moved to pull up her t-shirt, soon relieving her of it. His mouth attacked her breasts, even though she was still in her bra. Hermione’s hands were working on Draco’s trousers, wanting him naked just as much as he needed her to be. Lips met again and again as they undressed, desire flaring as they tore at each other’s clothes. Finally, they were naked, hands caressing bare skin, bodies rubbing against each other with need.

‘I saw you with Weasley,’ Draco said, his hands suddenly around Hermione’s throat as he pressed down on top of her, pinning her to the bed. ‘What were you doing with him?’ he asked possessively.

‘Nothing,’ Hermione managed. ‘Draco, please let go. You’re hurting me.’

Draco squeezed her throat a little more, then released his grip. She was still pinned to the bed.

‘I don’t want him touching you,’ he whispered. ‘I already have to share you with enough others. I won’t share you with him as well.’ 

‘He’s just a friend,’ Hermione said soothingly, her hands running through Draco’s blond hair. ‘He was anxious about the game is all. Really, there’s nothing between us.’

She pulled Draco’s head down, her mouth finding his, gentle at first but then with more passion as he relaxed into the kiss.

‘You know what I want,’ he whispered, his pale grey eyes boring into her rich brown ones.

Hermione nodded. ‘I trust you,’ she told him seriously as she returned his look.

His lips found hers once again in a brief but tender kiss as his arms pushed hers up. With a whispered spell her arms were bound, tied fast to the posts of the bed, her body taut against the smooth sheets.

Draco smiled again, his hand caressing Hermione’s skin, and watched as his gentle touch raised goosebumps on her soft flesh.

‘Tell me you want me, Mudblood,’ he commanded.

‘You know I do, Draco,’ Hermione replied softly.

 ‘Then say it!’ he ordered.

‘I want you, Draco. I want you so much.’ Hermione’s voice was full of desire.

‘What do you want?’ Draco asked, his tongue slowly licking down her throat towards her breasts and over her erect nipples. Hermione moaned and shivered as he sucked on one then the other, his hands still playing with her breasts. ‘Tell me, Mudblood!’ he said, his voice commanding again. ‘Tell me what you want.’

‘Whatever you want,’ Hermione cried. ‘Please, Draco—’

Smiling again, Draco stroked Hermione’s face, his finger tracing her top lip gently. ‘Good girl,’ he whispered. ‘That was the right answer.’

His hand was travelling down her body, sliding between her soft thighs, and he moaned with desire as his fingers found her wet core. ‘You’re so wet,’ he whispered. ‘Looks like you really do want it.’

‘Yes,’ Hermione whimpered. ‘Please touch me, Draco. Please.’

‘Do you deserve it, though, Mudblood?’ Draco asked. ‘Do you deserve my touch?’

‘Please,’ begged Hermione. ‘Please, Draco. Anything . . . just touch me . . . please.’

‘Anything?’ his voice was a seductive burr as he whispered the word in her ear.

Hermione shivered. She nodded. ‘Anything.’

‘I want you to pleasure me first,’ Draco told her.

Hermione nodded again frantically. ‘Yes, please.’   

Draco smiled and stroked her again. ‘Good girl.’ He moved until he was sitting lightly on her chest, his erection just above her mouth. ‘Beg for it, Mudblood,’ he told her quietly.

‘Please let me suck your cock, Draco. Please. I want it so much,’ Hermione made her voice as seductive as she could.

‘You want it, do you?’ Draco asked happily, leaning forward to push the rigid length deep into Hermione’s open mouth.

He moaned loudly as he fucked her face hard, enjoying the sensation of it sliding down her throat. Hermione tried not to gag as he almost choked her with it. The feeling was so exquisite that it wasn’t long before he was coming, filling her mouth with his seed before pulling out of her. Once again he traced Hermione’s lips with his finger as she swallowed, then his mouth was pressing against hers; the taste of himself on her lips exciting him, already making him stiffen once more.

Hermione lay quietly, waiting for Draco’s bidding. Tied to the bed as she was, she could do nothing but wait and hope that eventually, he would give her what she wanted . . . what she now so desperately needed.

‘Do you want me to make you come, Mudblood?’ Draco’s voice was a lazy drawl.

‘Yes, please,’ Hermione begged.

Again Draco’s fingers found her wet core.

‘Mmmm, you’re definitely ready,’ he said, removing his fingers from her and licking them.

He pulled her legs apart, staring with desire that bordered on lust at the soft pink folds buried beneath the small bare mound. 

‘Beautiful!’ he whispered, almost in awe.

He moved between Hermione’s legs, his newly hardened erection pressing between her lips. ‘What do you want, Mudblood?’ he asked, his voice gravelly with lust.

‘Fuck me . . . please . . . Draco,’ Hermione cried. She was so aroused now that every slight touch was almost torture, and she needed fulfilment.

‘You’re mine,’ Draco growled as he slid deeply into her, both of them gasping as their flesh connected so intimately. Draco’s hands slid up her tied arms as he moved inside of her. Hermione’s mouth found his, her tongue searching for and then connecting with his in a moan of joy.

‘Oh . . . yes,’ she whimpered as she moved against her lover, her legs wrapping around his, pulling him deeper inside her.

‘You feel so good,’ Draco moaned as he thrust harder, causing Hermione to whimper again. ‘Oh gods, Hermione.’

Hermione’s muscles contracted around his hardness, squeezing and milking him as their combined movements pulled them closer to climax. Draco’s tongue laved at her breast as he pounded, groaning with pleasure as she squeezed him harder; her whimpers turned to constant mewls of pleasure interspersed by fast, shallow breaths as her orgasm hit.

Soon the mewls became cries of ecstasy. She screwed up her eyes, her arms pulling at the bonds as she came hard, screaming out Draco’s name, her body bucking. This was too much for Draco, who swiftly followed, his own cries low and urgent before he collapsed on top of her.

For a long time they lay that way before Draco finally moved, leaving Hermione still tied to the bed.

‘Untie me, Draco,’ Hermione told him. ‘My arms are aching and I need to get to the game.’

‘I’m thinking of keeping you like this,’ Draco said with a wicked smile. ‘I wonder how long it would be before anyone came looking for you?’

‘Not long,’ Hermione replied. ‘If Harry and Ron didn’t come to find me then Severus would.’

‘True,’ Draco said a little moodily. ‘I’d forgotten about _him_ for a moment. But I might keep you here a little longer.’ He ran a finger down her body from her throat right down to her mound, making Hermione shiver.

‘You promised,’ Hermione said unhappily. She wasn’t sure how long they had been there but she needed to make sure she got to the game before it finished otherwise her friends would be upset with her.

Draco leant over and kissed her. ‘I know, love,’ he whispered. ‘And I always keep my promises.’

There was another whispered spell and the bonds were gone, leaving Hermione free and in Draco’s arms once more.


	3. Chapter 3

‘Do we have to go?’ Hermione asked grumpily. ‘I really don’t want to.’

‘Why not?’ Snape asked, sounding curious. ‘Lucius wants to see you.’

Hermione sighed loudly. ‘And I don’t want to see him, Severus. I’m really not sure what’s going on there and I’m not sure I like it.’

‘You know he won’t go further than you want,’ Snape said. ‘You just have to set the limits.’

‘Okay, then we won’t go at all. Let’s stay here instead, just the two of us.’

Snape looked at her interestedly. ‘Is that really how you feel?’ he asked gently as he stroked Hermione’s hair.

‘Yes . . . no . . . oh, I don’t know. . . .’ Hermione sounded frustrated.

Snape laughed. ‘Worried you’ll enjoy it too much?’

Hermione blushed. ‘No!’

‘Methinks the lady doth protest too much,’ Snape said with a grin. He pushed her down beneath him on the bed, straddling her as he held her hands above her head. ‘I think you’re really quite into the bondage side of things, Hermione,’ he whispered in her ear.

Hermione wriggled against his grasp, giggling. ‘Let go of me, you bastard.’

‘No, I don’t think so. Everyone else gets to tie you up, so why shouldn’t I?’

‘You can if you really want to, Severus. Do you mind everyone else doing it?’ Hermione asked worriedly.

‘No. It’s never really been a big interest of mine,’ Snape said dismissively, ‘but as you like it so much . . . .’

‘I prefer you spanking me,’ Hermione admitted with a grin. ‘That always makes me horny as hell.’

‘Lucky I like spanking you, then,’ Snape said archly. He kissed her nose, then let go of her and sat up. ‘But not tonight. I have hall duty. Get dressed and I’ll walk you back to Gryffindor tower.’

‘I never seem to spend much time with you,’ Hermione said petulantly.

Snape looked at her, his eyebrows raised with amusement. ‘I see you every day during lessons, at every meal, almost every evening for the project, and—’

‘For _sex_ , I mean,’ Hermione said, cutting him off. ‘You know exactly what I mean, Severus. I want to be with you for more than just a couple of hours.’

‘Well, that’s a hard thing to achieve whilst we’re here. You know that,’ Snape said sensibly.

Hermione pouted. ‘I appreciate that, but going to parties with Lucius and stuff doesn’t help.’

‘Soon,’ Snape promised and leant over to kiss her. ‘Now, get dressed.’

Slowly they walked back to Gryffindor tower, discussing the project as they went. Snape’s scowl was set firmly on his face as they walked and several times he stopped to discipline students caught in the wrong place, or who he perceived to be making trouble. Eventually, they reached the bottom of the stairs to Gryffindor tower where they talked for a few minutes, finishing their conversation.

‘Tomorrow evening?’ Snape asked.

Hermione nodded. ‘I’ll have Astronomy homework to finish first, but I can be down by nine o’clock.’

‘I’ll see you tomorrow morning, Miss Granger,’ Snape said smoothly.

Hermione looked round to make sure no one was looking, then leant towards him. ‘I love you, Severus Snape,’ she told him quietly, then walked off up the stairs before he had a chance to say anything.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Hermione didn’t chat long to Ron and Harry as she was tired again. Ron complained about Snape keeping her out until late, and on a Saturday, too, but she assured them she was happy and they knew it was true. Hermione was only ever really truly happy when she was working.

Once she felt she could get away from her friends without causing offence Hermione visited her room and collected her bath stuff and headed down to the Prefect’s bathroom for a soak before bed. She was pleased to find that no one else was using the room as she wanted a bit of time alone to think. Lucius’ party was grating on her mind and she really needed to look at that relationship before the next party came along.

Locking the door, she turned on the taps and added some spicy-smelling bubbles to the hot water. Then she immersed herself in the bath and settled down with her eyes closed to think about Lucius Malfoy and his “Mistresses” party.

‘We’ve been invited to a party,’ Severus had told her as they lay in bed.

Hermione leant up on her elbow and looked at him. ‘Who would have invited _us_ to a party?’

‘Lucius Malfoy.’

‘Oh, shit. I told you Draco knew. I suppose he told his dad, did he? Although I don’t know why he needed to know.’ Hermione sounded peevish.

Severus laughed unconcernedly and pulled her closer. ‘I guess he did. Anyway, you and I have an invitation to Lucius’ “Mistresses” party.’

‘What’s that, then?’ Hermione frowned. ‘Oh no, don’t tell me. Everyone takes their mistress.’ 

Severus nodded. ‘Yes, and as you’re my mistress—’

‘Hang on, don’t you have to be married to have a mistress?’ Hermione said suspiciously. ‘Is there something you’ve not been telling me about a Mrs Snape that you’ve got tucked away somewhere?’

Severus laughed darkly. ‘No, no Mrs Snape yet . . . although hopefully, in the future,’ his voice was light as his fingers traced a pattern gently over Hermione’s shoulders. ‘I suppose it could be called girlfriends’ party, but it doesn’t quite have the same ring, does it?’

‘So does Lucius have a mistress, then?’ Hermione asked, interested in spite of herself. She thought of the handsome blond-haired man with whom she’d had so many horrid encounters over the years. Perhaps he was nice if you weren’t Muggle-born.

‘Several, although whether any of them will be at the party is anyone’s guess. Most of the women are married to one of the guests and mistress to at least one other.’

‘Surely that must be difficult, attending a party as someone’s mistress when your husband’s going to be there?’

‘With his mistress. You get used to it after a while.’ Severus said amusedly.

‘They’re all Death Eaters, though, aren’t they?’ Hermione asked, trying to sound calmer than she felt.

‘Not all, but a fair majority will be. Don’t worry, you’ll be perfectly safe — you’ll be with me.’

‘And Lucius’ wife? What about her?’

‘Narcissa? She’s aware of Lucius’ “interests” but she prefers not to get personally involved. No doubt she’ll go away for the weekend with girlfriends, shopping or some such, and leave Lucius free to play as he sees fit.’ Severus sounded amused again.

‘So she isn’t someone else’s mistress, then?’

Severus laughed loudly. ‘Gods, no. Narcissa has never been interested in sex. Money and what it can buy and status are the only things she has any time for, except for Draco. That’s why Lucius started taking mistresses in the first place, although none of them seems to satisfy him for long.’

‘So why have we been invited?’

Severus looked at her blandly. ‘To put it crudely, because Lucius wants to fuck you.’

Hermione gave a sharp bark of laughter. ‘No, I don’t think so, Severus. He’s hated me since I was eleven.’

Severus scowled. ‘I hated you when you were eleven,’ he admitted. ‘Doesn’t stop me wanting to fuck you now.’

‘You don’t think I’m that annoying little know-it-all any longer, then?’ Hermione asked cheekily.

‘No, you’re still an annoying know-it-all, but now I appreciate that you have other qualities.’ Severus pulled her to him, burying his face in her breasts.

‘But I don’t want to fuck Lucius. I’ve got you.’

Severus chuckled richly, muffled by her breasts.

‘You may just change your mind when you see him at the party,’ he said sounding perfectly reasonable, coming up for air before capturing her nipple in his mouth.

‘I don’t think so,’ Hermione replied assuredly. She relaxed back onto the bed to take full advantage of what her lover had to offer.

And so they had gone to Lucius’ party, Severus having somehow managed to get Hermione a pass to leave school for the evening. He had bought her a suitable dress to wear and some beautiful underwear, both far more sophisticated and sexy than anything she had ever owned before, and although she still didn’t want to attend, she did at least feel more like an adult than a child in the beautiful gown and high-heeled sandals.

Her evening was almost ruined immediately when she bumped into Draco and Pansy, both of whom gave her knowing smirks, but she hurriedly moved away from them and joined Severus in discussions with various middle-aged people who quite frankly looked more like boring businessmen than Death Eaters. Severus pointed out the pairings, both legal and extra-marital, and it was a fairly entertaining evening, with the champagne flowing freely.  

And then Lucius had appeared.

Hermione wasn’t sure whether Lucius’ mistresses weren’t in attendance or whether they were other people’s mistresses, too. Whatever the case, he was alone, working the room and talking to everyone. He was the consummate host and she couldn’t help but feel a little guilty for disliking him, although their history was such that it was hard for her to feel anything but dislike.

She watched him as he talked and laughed with the other guests. Lucius really was a very handsome man. He was incredibly striking with his long blond hair and piercing grey eyes and seemed very pleasant. Once again, she considered that if you weren’t Muggle-born then he was probably excellent company. 

By now she was feeling a little lightheaded from the champagne. The sort of party this was dictated that it was never going to be without spectacle; it seemed that couples, and in many cases more than couples, were content to play in full view of anyone who wanted to watch.

While this wasn’t to Hermione’s taste at all, even she could feel her reserve slipping somewhat and she found herself stroking Severus’ frock coat seductively, hoping she could convince him to take her back to school and make love to her, or at least go somewhere more private where they could be alone.

Lucius was heading their way now. Several times he had looked over at them, catching her eye. Hermione thought about what Severus had told her about Lucius’ reason for inviting them to the party. Even with everything going on around them she still found it difficult to believe he had invited her because he wanted to take her to bed, although she was sure there were others who did.

She had complained bitterly to Severus when Crabbe’s father tried to seriously grope her while they were talking to a group of people he knew. Severus had laughed and said it was only a bit of fun, but Hermione got the impression it was more than that. Since then she had stuck by Severus’ side like a limpet, refusing to let go of his hand.

‘Ah, finally — Severus, my friend,’ Lucius announced happily, grabbing the top of Severus’ arms and patting them in a familiar manner, his smile wide. ‘It’s such a pleasure to finally see you at one of these parties. And you, too, of course, my dear.’

Lucius turned to Hermione and gave her such a predatory look she shivered. Then he grabbed her free hand and raised it to his lips, planting a kiss on it as he continued to gaze at her.

‘You look very beautiful this evening, Miss Granger,’ he continued politely.

‘Thank you, Mr Malfoy,’ she replied, equally politely.

Hermione wasn’t sure what to say or how to react to this friendly Lucius Malfoy. In fact, she was finding him rather unnerving.

‘Please — call me Lucius,’ he said with a smile, then he noticed they weren’t drinking. ‘But you don’t have a drink.’

Lucius motioned for a waiter, who came over to them bearing a tray containing champagne flutes. He plucked one off the tray for Hermione and one for himself. Severus also took a glass before the waiter turned away to serve someone else. Lucius offered Hermione the drink and she tried to refuse it, saying she had already had enough, but he wouldn’t accept no for an answer and pressed it into her hand.

‘Are you enjoying the party?’ he asked interestedly.

Hermione thought for a moment. ‘It’s rather unusual,’ she replied, trying to remain tactful. What she meant, of course, was that it was freaking her out, being groped and ogled and seeing others making out all over the place. But at the same time, she couldn’t help but find it somewhat stimulating, especially with the alcohol to help it along and Severus at her side.

Lucius nodded sagely. ‘Yes, a little disconcerting maybe for a first-timer.’ He smiled pleasantly. ‘I’m hoping you and Severus will join me later for something a little more private.’ His voice was deep and delicious, and Hermione felt another shiver run up her spine.

She didn’t answer, merely took a sip of the champagne.

‘Let me just finish greeting the rest of my guests and we’ll go somewhere a little quieter where we can talk without being disturbed.’ Lucius looked at Severus, who gave a brief nod. ‘I’ll be back shortly.’

He moved on to the next group, leaving Hermione and Severus alone.

‘What does he mean, quieter and more private?’ Hermione asked. She thought she knew but she wanted to check.

‘His bedroom, I imagine,’ Severus answered casually. ‘I did tell you the reason for our invite.’

‘I don’t want to do this, Severus,’ Hermione said a little unhappily, although in truth now she was at the party she felt far calmer about it than she had expected to. Obviously, she’d had far more champagne than she had realised.

‘We’re not going to be able to leave until Lucius has spoken to us in private,’ Severus said, sounding resigned.

‘I don’t think you realise just what sort history Lucius and I have,’ she said.

Severus laughed. ‘Oh, yes, I do. I’ve had over six years of Lucius complaining about you. Of course, I don’t think your part in his incarceration helped. But he’s realised you’ve grown up now.’

‘But still—’

‘I suggest you wait until you talk to Lucius. You’ll find he can be quite charming.’

‘Perhaps I don’t want him to be charming, Severus. I want to leave.’

‘I told you we can’t, Hermione. And I really don’t think you’ll want to stay down here for much longer.’ Severus looked around. The party was becoming rather explicit.

Hermione looked, too, and had to admit Severus was right. Given the choice of staying down here where it appeared an orgy was about to take place and spending some time alone with Lucius and Severus, she would definitely take the latter. Perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad with Severus there to look after her. As long as she didn’t end up alone with Lucius she should be all right.

Something caught her eye and she looked closer. It was Draco and Pansy. She tore her gaze away, not wanting to see what they were doing. She had enough problems with the couple already without adding to it by seeing something she shouldn’t.

‘Are you all right?’ Severus asked in concern. He had seen her turn away abruptly.

‘Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson are over there,’ Hermione explained in a low voice. ‘I don’t even want to know what they’re doing, let alone see it.’

Severus nodded understandingly and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

‘Have another drink and try to relax,’ he advised quietly. ‘We’ll get out of here as soon as we can, I promise.’

 

 

* * *

 

 

Against all expectations, Hermione was actually rather glad when Lucius arrived back with them, as by that time she had been propositioned by six men and two women. It seemed Lucius was becoming a more attractive prospect all the time.

She panicked when Severus was called away to chat with someone in a different group, leaving her alone and unprotected for a moment. Before she had a chance to follow him, Crabbe and Goyle’s fathers accosted her, both leering so badly they were almost drooling.

Hermione went into shock at what they suggested she do with them, and it was only a timely intervention by Draco, who had finished whatever it was he had been doing with Pansy, that stopped the men from manhandling her away from the main party area.

‘Thank you for helping me,’ she whispered gratefully to Draco. She had never been so pleased to see him.

‘You’re welcome, Granger,’ Draco replied with a smirk. ‘Really, Severus should never have let go of you. You’re far too naïve to be hanging around here on your own. I don’t know what he was thinking.’

He looked over to where Severus was deep in conversation with a tall bald man and laughed. ‘Hmmm, clever . . . Crabbe and Goyle’s dads are obviously far brighter than their sons.’

Hermione looked at him in confusion.

‘There’s a lot of interest in you, Granger,’ Draco explained. ‘New flesh, so to speak. And of course, you’re here with Severus, which is also a surprise. He’s not well known for his relationships — or perhaps I should say not well known for sharing. I wonder how my father managed to convince him to bring you along.’

Hermione didn’t say anything. She wasn’t about to tell Draco what Severus thought his father wanted.

‘Anyway, Crabbe and Goyle Senior just took the opportunity to try to lure you away. Lucky I turned up; I dread to think what they would be doing to you by now otherwise.’

Hermione shuddered. ‘I’m not sure I actually understood what they were suggesting,’ she admitted. ‘At least I hope I didn’t. But I just seemed to go into shock or something.’

Draco nodded, looking impressed. ‘They put a gentle stunning spell on you, and they distracted Severus to get you alone. You would never have got away from them without intervention from someone else. It was rather clever, actually — especially considering who was involved.’

She thought of the implication of what Draco had just told her. ‘I really was lucky you came along, then,’ she said gratefully. ‘Thank you, Draco.’

Draco looked faintly surprised at her use of his first name, then he smiled. ‘You can repay me later, Mudblood,’ he said and winked lecherously.

Hermione bristled at his sudden use of that foul name she hated so much. Just when she had begun to think him not so bad he had gone and spoilt it.

‘You do know I mean that as a term of endearment, don’t you?’ Draco whispered in her ear. He had seen the look of anger cross her face. Hermione hadn’t realised he had moved so near to her and she shivered. ‘Accept it as my pet name for you and it’ll never worry you again,’ he said, his hand reaching out to gently stroke her cheek.

‘I can’t accept that name — it’s disgusting,’ she said, moving back from his hand.

But Draco had already grabbed Hermione’s arm. ‘It only hurts you if you let it,’ he said seriously. ‘You know I have to call you that at school. But why let it hurt you? Get used to me calling you it as a pet name and you’ll not even notice when someone else uses it to torment you.’

Hermione was able to see the logic in his statement, but it was easier said than done. For so many years Draco and his Slytherin cronies had used that word as a criticism. How could she suddenly ignore what it meant?

Severus had finally managed to break away from the bald man and headed back towards Hermione, noting her distress.

Draco leant in close to whisper in her ear again. ‘I’ll see you later, Mudblood. Then you can thank me properly for saving you.’

He released her with a wink just as Severus arrived. ‘You really shouldn’t leave Granger on her own, Severus,’ Draco said brightly. ‘She nearly got nailed by Crabbe and Goyle Senior.’ With that he walked off, giving them a wave as he went.

‘Are you all right?’ Severus asked worriedly.

Hermione nodded but was visibly upset. ‘Can we go, Severus? I don’t think I can cope with being here any longer. I’ve been propositioned at least half a dozen times, and Crabbe and Goyle’s dads put a charm on me.’

Severus sighed. ‘I’m sorry, love. I shouldn’t have let myself get side-tracked. I should have realised you were going to be of interest to some of the guests. What did Draco want?’

‘He stopped Crabbe and Goyle taking me away,’ she explained. ‘Then he tried to convince me I should get used to him calling me a Mudblood.’

‘I need to thank him properly,’ Severus said, looking around for Draco. ‘And he’s right. If you ignore the name it will have no power to hurt you.’

‘He said it was his pet name for me,’ Hermione said unhappily.

‘Did he? Hmm.’

‘What does that mean?’ Hermione asked sharply. ‘What do you mean, hmm?’

‘Oh . . . nothing,’ Severus said distractedly. ‘Look, here comes Lucius.’

Lucius was still smiling when he joined them, although his smile faded when Severus pulled him to one side and told him what Crabbe and Goyle Senior had tried to do to Hermione.

‘Definitely time for us to adjourn elsewhere, I think,’ Lucius said, and politely offered her his arm.

Hermione looked at her lover for a second before accepting and walking with Lucius towards the stairs, her other hand still holding tightly to Severus’ to ensure he didn’t leave her again. At the top of the stairs, Lucius turned left and led her and Severus down a long corridor lined with portraits.

‘Malfoy ancestors,’ he mentioned offhandedly as they passed.

Hermione didn’t have time to examine them properly, but it was clear that all the portraits had the same blond hair as Lucius and Draco, which made her wonder just how inbred the Malfoy family line was. Before she had time to contemplate it seriously, Lucius had opened an ornate door and was ushering her inside.

Hermione looked around the large room with interest. As with the other rooms she had seen in Malfoy Manor, it was immaculately and expensively decorated. It was a bedroom, as the huge four-poster bed which took up the greater part of the room showed, but it was spacious enough for a sofa, chairs, and a table grouped in front of a large and very ornate fireplace. One side of the room was mirrored — wardrobes, she realised after examining the room in greater detail. The décor was typical Slytherin, silvers and greens with black accents, and she decided she quite liked it.

‘What do you think?’ Lucius asked interestedly. He had watched her looking around the room.

‘Very Slytherin,’ she said, ‘but I like it. Is it your bedroom?’

Lucius nodded, smiling. ‘Yes. This is where I sleep — for my sins.’

Hermione glanced at Severus, who had sat down in one of the chairs. She went to join him, sitting in the other free chair so she wouldn’t get trapped on the sofa with Lucius.

‘Would you like a drink?’ Lucius asked, raising a decanter containing an amber liquid. ‘It’s cognac. Or I can get some more champagne if you prefer.’

‘I’ll have cognac, please, Lucius,’ Severus said. He looked at Hermione. ‘Are you going to try the cognac, Hermione?’

Hermione thought for a moment. She was sure she had already had more than enough to drink this evening, but at the same time, they obviously weren’t likely to be leaving at any point in the immediate future so one small cognac probably wasn’t going to hurt. 

‘A small one, please,’ she replied quietly.

Lucius smiled and turned away to pour the drinks. A few seconds later he walked towards the fireplace with three glasses, each with a similar size measure of the amber liquid. He passed one glass to Hermione and one to Severus before sitting down on the sofa with his own glass.

‘I understand apologies are in order, Miss Granger,’ Lucius said seriously as he gazed intently at her. She frowned in confusion and glanced at Severus. He remained passive. ‘A couple of my guests tried to take advantage of you, I understand,’ Lucius pressed.

Hermione nodded. ‘Draco said they put a charm on me.’

‘I will be having a word with them about their behaviour,’ Lucius said coldly. He looked angry. ‘Never fear on that score. What they did was completely wrong and I won’t accept it at one of my parties. I’m all for people having fun in any way they choose, but everything must be completely consensual and not because of a sneakily cast spell.’

‘It was lucky Draco came along when he did.’ Hermione thought about Draco and his comments to her and shut up, taking a small sip of the cognac. It was far more pleasant than she had expected and she could feel its warming progress all the way to her stomach.

‘Yes, very fortunate,’ Lucius agreed, although there was something strange about the way he said it. ‘So, Miss Granger . . . Hermione . . . Severus is the lucky man who’s having a relationship with you?’ Lucius’ voice was enquiring and he leant forward towards her as he spoke.

‘Why did Draco tell you?’ Hermione asked bluntly.

Lucius shrugged disarmingly. ‘Draco tells me many pieces of information he thinks may be of use. In this case, it enabled me to invite the two of you to join us at this party.’ He smiled.

Hermione took another sip of the cognac. It really did taste very nice and was warming and soothing. She could feel her apprehension at being with Lucius melting away as she drank. He really was very good looking, and once you talked to him properly he was charming, absolutely charming.

‘So, I understand you enjoy being spanked,’ Lucius said. His voice was a soft burr that sent shivers down her spine.

‘Draco told you that, too,’ she replied unhappily.

Lucius nodded and replied candidly, ‘I have to admit, Hermione, it was that which really piqued my interest in you.’

He took a large sip of his cognac. Hermione followed suit, her gaze focussed completely on Lucius as she listened to his seductive voice.

‘I mean, beautiful as you are — and believe me, my dear, you really are very beautiful — there is still the unfortunate matter of your birth, although,’ he waved his hand dismissively, ‘that can be ignored, of course. But this interest in corporal punishment is exciting and makes me keen to explore the area further with you . . . with Severus’ permission, of course.’

Lucius smiled at his friend who was sitting quietly, watching the conversation while sipping his own cognac.

By now, Hermione was feeling a little drowsy, a mixture of the alcohol and the warm room, she supposed. She tried to focus on Lucius’ words. Was he saying he wanted to spank her? Interestingly, the idea didn’t completely fill her with horror. In fact, in the comfortable state she was in it seemed like rather a nice idea. Certainly, she enjoyed being spanked by Severus, and it would be interesting to see how different being spanked by Lucius would be.

‘You want to spank me?’ she asked quietly. She took another sip of her drink and looked around at Severus. He was smirking faintly.

‘I was hoping to go a little further than that,’ Lucius admitted candidly, eyeing her carefully. ‘I thought we could explore just how far this interest takes you.’

Hermione bit her bottom lip for a moment. She wasn’t completely sure what Lucius was suggesting but she could feel the arousal building up inside her. The arousal she already felt for Severus had been added to by Lucius’ seductive voice and the alcohol she had been imbibing all evening. She shivered once more.

Lucius left his seat, his drink forgotten on the table, and knelt in front of Hermione, taking her glass from her before taking both her hands in his.

‘Will you let me explore with you, Hermione?’ he asked gently.

With extreme difficulty, she tore her gaze away from him to look at Severus.

He shrugged easily. ‘The choice is yours, Hermione,’ he said, his voice giving away nothing.

‘You won’t leave me?’ she asked Severus worriedly, not sure whether she meant here and now, in this room, or after she did this . . . if she did this. Would he decide he no longer wanted to be with her?

‘Never,’ Severus said, shaking his head, his voice just above a whisper. ‘I promise.’

She smiled at her lover, seeing once again just why she loved him so much. Her heart was pounding at the decision she was about to make but she already knew what her answer would be. She turned her gaze to Lucius.

‘Yes,’ she said quietly.

The look of excitement on Lucius’ face made her arousal flare even more, although part of her was nervous, too. Lucius stood, still holding her hands, and pulled her up from the chair.

‘Let me show you,’ he said excitedly and led Hermione across the room to the mirrored wardrobes. He pressed at an invisible catch and one of the doors slid open, revealing several large shelves.

Hermione looked at the contents of the shelves in amazement, her breath catching as she realised what she had just agreed to. Suddenly she wasn’t so sure she wanted this. Spanking she could cope with, but instruments made it much more dangerous, especially in the hands of a Death Eater who detested her.

She looked at the array of implements on the shelves, from small leather floggers and thin wooden canes to larger, more lethal-looking whips that made her stomach turn just to look at them.

‘Obviously, we’re only starting out, so I wouldn’t bother looking at anything that’s not on the top shelf.’ Lucius spoke seductively in her ear.

Hermione’s eyes broke away from the painful-looking cat o’ nine tails of thick rope she had been focussing on and moved once again to the top shelf. That was more like it.

‘You can trust Lucius,’ Severus told her in her other ear. She hadn’t realised he had joined them. ‘He knows what he’s doing.’

‘But he hates me.’ Hermione whispered her fear to Severus, forgetting for a moment that Lucius was standing there, too.

Lucius’ hand caressed her throat and moved to cup her chin as his lips nibbled gently at her neck. ‘I won’t harm you,’ he promised with his seductive voice. ‘It’ll hurt, but you know that already. But not harm, my dear, never that.’

Hermione felt Severus take her hand and squeeze it. ‘It’s your choice, Hermione,’ he said gently. ‘If you’ve changed your mind, just say so. I’m sure Lucius will understand.’

Lucius was still kissing Hermione’s neck, but he made the appropriate murmuring noises to indicate he agreed with Severus. Hermione looked at the instruments once more. Could she do this? Did she want to do this? She realised that she did. Whatever the cause, she wanted to know how different being punished with one of those items was from being spanked.

‘I trust you, Lucius,’ she whispered, and in that moment knew she had given herself to him.

‘Good.’ Lucius’ voice was a warm drawl. ‘So choose which one you want me to use on you.’

Hermione squeezed Severus’s hand again as she looked at each of the items in turn. There were two leather paddles — one long and thin, the other wider and shorter. Next to those was a riding crop and what looked like an old school cane. Next to that was a strap that looked like a belt, then a black suede flogger. She ran her hand gently over each item, considering the merits of each one. Lucius and Severus watched patiently, knowing she needed to be happy in her choice. Finally, she stopped on the flogger and picked it up.

‘This one,’ she said, and smiling, turned to face Lucius.

Lucius took the flogger from her, his own smile as wide as hers. ‘Good choice,’ he said. ‘It can be a little painful, but not overly so. It’s certainly a good next step after spanking and an excellent place to start.’

He took her hand and led her towards the bed. Severus had returned to the chairs and turned one so he had a good view of the proceedings.

‘I’m going to undress you,’ Lucius said quietly, leaning forward so his lips could capture hers in the briefest of kisses, his teeth nipping at her bottom lip. ‘It will give you a chance to get used to me and to relax.’

He placed the flogger on the bed, then wrapped his arms around Hermione’s body, finding the zipper of her dress. He tugged on it, drawing it down, then slid the material of the dress off her shoulders and pulled. The dress slid to the floor and pooled around Hermione’s ankles, leaving her exposed in silky underwear — bra, knickers and stockings held up by a matching suspender belt.

‘Exquisite,’ Lucius breathed as he took a step backwards to admire Hermione. He turned to look at his friend. ‘You lucky bastard, Severus,’ he told him honestly.

Severus smiled. ‘I know that Lucius,’ he replied somewhat smugly.

Lucius’ hand reached out to caress Hermione’s left breast, squeezing gently, finger running over the delicate stiffness that poked through the soft material. Hermione stood there as Lucius touched her, overwhelmed by the strength of his desire that she could feel emanating from him in waves.

And then his hand was moving over her bare skin, caressing her décolleté and neck as his other hand reached back to find the catch of her bra. A moment later the garment was gone, joining the dress on the floor, and both Lucius and Severus gazed at the sight of Hermione. Her nipples were erect and she had the flush of arousal that Severus recognised so well. Desire made her eyes hooded and she licked her lips slowly before gnawing on her bottom lip with a trace of nervousness once more.

Lucius’ hands covered her breasts, then after a short pause slid down over her stomach towards the small knickers. He moaned with joy when he discovered they were tie-sided and his fingers made short work of the bows. Once again he stepped back as if to admire his handiwork.

‘You really are so beautiful,’ Lucius told Hermione honestly as he gazed at the recently revealed area between her legs, which were still encased in silk stockings.

He moved towards her once more, one hand cupping her face as the other found the middle of her back and pulled her to him. His head bent to claim her lips, not so briefly this time. His mouth crushed against hers, causing Hermione to give a small whimper of desire.

‘I want to tie you up, Hermione,’ he whispered in her ear, his breath hot on her neck, giving her that delightful shiver.

Hermione nodded.

‘Say it,’ Lucius urged. ‘I need you to tell me that you want it.’

‘Yes, Lucius, tie me up,’ Hermione just about managed to say. She was almost breathless; her heart was racing fit to burst and she was shaking with anticipation.

‘Lie face forward on the bed and put your hands above your head,’ Lucius instructed.

Hermione climbed onto the bed and lay down as ordered. A moment later ropes shot from the posts and secured her firmly, although not too tautly, to the bed.

‘You have no idea how incredible you look,’ Lucius told her, his voice as smooth as silk.

He spent the next few slow minutes removing his waistcoat and shirt, carefully placing them over a chair before taking another sip of his cognac. Then he returned to the bed.

‘Are you ready, Hermione?’ Lucius asked her quietly. She was still shaking. He ran a finger down her spine and over her tight buttocks.

‘Yes,’ Hermione replied, her voice raspy with desire.

‘What is your safe word?’ Lucius asked.

‘My what?’

‘Your safe word. The word that tells me to stop when it gets to be too much for you.’

Hermione thought for a moment. ‘Autumn,’ she replied. ‘Is that good enough?’

‘It will do,’ Lucius said. His hand gently stroked her bottom again.

Hermione closed her eyes, enjoying the soothing feeling of Lucius’ hand, then cried out as he spanked her soundly, the noise cracking around the room. Lucius reached across for his wand and muttered an incantation — a silencing charm, she assumed. He repeated the spanking another couple of times. Hermione could feel her bottom smarting and her pussy already pooling with the moisture of her arousal. Lucius bent to kiss her reddening bottom.

‘I think you’re ready,’ Lucius said, his voice seemingly darker than before.

Hermione felt the bed move slightly as he got up so he was standing over her.

‘Don’t forget to use your safe word when you want me to stop,’ he told her, his voice commanding. ‘Because I have no intention of ending this until you do.’

‘I will,’ Hermione promised as she shivered once more.


	4. Chapter 4

‘Severus, will you marry me?’ Hermione asked. She lay across his chest running her hand through the dark hairs she found there.

Snape smiled. ‘I should be the one asking you, don't you think, Hermione?’

‘Should you? Well, why don't you, then?’ she asked petulantly.

Snape sighed. ‘It’s not the right time. When you’ve left school—’

‘What, you don't think I’m old enough to make a decision like that?’ Hermione cut in crossly. Her eyes narrowed dangerously.

‘That’s not what I meant, love,’ Snape replied soothingly, stroking her back. ‘I just think you might change your mind once you’re away from here . . . away from me. You’ll have so many options in your life. Marriage to me isn’t the only one, you know.’

‘I doubt I’m going to change my mind on this. I love you, Severus. I know what I want and you’re it. I want to be your wife.’

‘I just don't think you should rush into anything,’ Snape said.

‘So you don't want to marry me, then?’ Hermione’s voice was flat.

‘I didn't say that. I just said we should wait a little while.’ Snape leant forward and kissed her tenderly.

‘Fine,’ Hermione said, in that tone of voice that made it clear it really wasn’t. ‘But I’m not going to change my mind, however long we wait.’

‘You don’t know what’s going to happen in the future,’ Snape said reasonably. ‘Perhaps Draco will sweep you off your feet and take you away somewhere, or your thing with Lucius could get more serious.’

Hermione scowled. ‘I don’t want things getting more serious with Lucius,’ she told him. ‘I think I’ve gone far enough down that road . . . unless you want me to continue.’

Snape gave an amused laugh. ‘I told you before, Hermione, everything you do is because you want to do it and it all stops whenever you want. However, we will still need to go the party, regardless of your feelings for Lucius.’

Hermione sighed. ‘Okay, we’ll go to the party. But then that’s it. I don’t want anything more to do with Lucius after that. I’m really not deeply enough into that whole BDSM thing to continue with him.’

‘What about Draco and Pansy?’ Snape asked.

Hermione sighed. ‘I don’t know,’ she replied honestly.

‘You like them,’ Snape said.

Hermione nodded her head. ‘I do, but. . . .’ She sighed. ‘Oh, I don’t know. I love _you_ , Severus, and I want to marry you. There really isn’t anything else I want in my life more, and I just wish you’d see that.’

Snape chuckled. ‘Stop being so impatient, Hermione. We have the rest of our lives to consider marriage. I’m sure you can fit in a few more things before then.

Hermione said nothing further, knowing that it wasn’t going to get her anywhere, but she couldn’t help but feel disappointed that Severus didn’t want to marry her. 

 

 

* * *

 

 

Hermione lay in her bed thinking about what Severus had said to her earlier in the evening. She really did want to marry him and it was so frustrating that he wouldn’t at least consider it. Of course, if they did eventually get married she would have to give up playing with Draco and Pansy, along with Lucius, but she was sure she could do it.

As much as she liked the two Slytherins and enjoyed what she did with them, as Severus’ wife she wanted to be with him exclusively. That wasn’t too hard to achieve, was it? After all, most people managed to have a relationship with only one other person. Of course, if she was honest, she didn’t want to give Severus an excuse to get a mistress and continue to attend Lucius’ parties. She didn’t want anyone else making love to him except her. As far as she was concerned the next party would be the last they would ever attend.

But while it should have been easy for her to give up Draco and Pansy, she couldn’t help but admit that they had certainly spiced up her last few months at school considerably. Once again her mind returned to Lucius’ party and what had happened after Lucius finished his games.   

Hermione lay, still tied to the bed, aching and somewhat sore, but feeling sated and strangely elated by everything that had happened. Her senses were significantly heightened and she felt as if her entire being was hyper-aware, more cognizant of everything going on around her, even after all the alcohol.  

There was a knock on the door. Immediately, as Lucius answered it, the easy feeling fled Hermione's body, leaving in its place an anxiety born of her captivity. She had no idea who the visitor was, it could be any one of the party guests, but the idea of them seeing her like this, naked and spread-eagled on the bed, unable to stop any lascivious looks on their part or even something more, was worrying.

Just before Lucius moved back to reveal the newcomer Hermione realised who it must be and moaned piteously. She didn't want Draco to see her like this. Bad enough that he would know what she had done with his father, but to see her completely naked and bound, unable to move or cover herself in any way, was going to be a major embarrassment for her.

Draco and Pansy both entered the room and Hermione wished the ground would open up and swallow her, especially upon seeing their knowing smirks as they spotted her tied to the bed. She moaned softly with disquiet as her eyes searched for Severus’, willing him to look in her direction and understand her need to be released from the bondage immediately. But he was seemingly more interested in the newcomers as he never once looked her way.

Unable to do anything but listen, Hermione heard Severus thank Draco for coming to her aid. He seemed happy to allow the blond boy to collect payment for his actions, and she was unable to do anything to stop it.

Hermione knew what would happen — after all, Draco had hinted earlier at what he wanted — but as with Lucius, she was unsure why Draco would want her when she was Muggle-born. And how would Pansy react to her boyfriend getting intimate with Hermione when she had always hated her so much?

Draco stood beside the bed and his hand trailed gently over Hermione’s body, fingers stroking her soft skin as she cringed with embarrassment. She had been so preoccupied with praying to anyone who would listen that Severus would not give her to Draco, she had missed their conversation. But from the way he was touching her and the look on his face she knew her prayers hadn’t been answered and she was now at Draco’s mercy.

‘Please untie me,’ she whispered. She knew it was unlikely to work, but she had to at least try.

Draco grinned at Hermione wickedly. ‘Oh, I don't think we want to do that just yet, do we?’

His hand moved over her body once again, fingers squeezing her breasts for a moment before tracing gently around her aureole, and he watched with pleasure as her nipple stiffened. His other hand trailed down over her stomach, tracing patterns on it before sliding down between her wide open legs.

‘I rather like you being unable to move,’ Draco confided happily. ‘This way I know I’m going to get exactly what I want from you.’ He leant closer to whisper in Hermione’s ear. ‘But don’t worry, Mudblood, I’ll make sure you enjoy it at least as much as I do.’

Hermione gasped as Draco’s fingers slid inside her. She was feeling a little tender after her session with Lucius, but it still felt good. She closed her eyes and relaxed, enjoying the feeling as his thumb joined the party, rubbing her clit in a circular motion as he continued to finger her.

She gave a small whimper as she felt the tug inside her that signified another orgasm was on its way. But then Draco removed his fingers from her. Hermione fought down a feeling of disappointment and opened her eyes to look up at him, although her face must have given away her feelings.

‘I’m not ready to let you come just yet,’ Draco told her with a wicked grin. ‘Not when there’s so much more for us to enjoy first.’     

Hermione almost groaned with annoyance at his teasing and she closed her eyes again, not wanting to see his smugness at his dominance over her. Then suddenly everything changed, and once again she could feel fingers softly stroking her.

She heard Draco laugh as he said, ‘It appears that my dear girlfriend has decided to take pity on you, Mudblood. Clearly, she feels you should be given the opportunity to come after all.’ He leant over her, grinning once more. ‘And far be it from me to spoil Pansy’s enjoyment.’

Hermione gave a massive gasp as a tongue slid over her clit, tickling as it licked and sucked, then swooping and dipping to traverse the length of her slit, teasing and prodding at the engorged lips, softly stroking and caressing as it moved. She moaned and bit her lip, trying not to cry out as her body writhed at the gentle touch. It felt wonderful, and whatever she thought of Draco she couldn’t help but appreciate what his tongue was doing to her.

‘I have to admit that is extremely arousing,’ Draco confided, his voice a husky whisper in her ear as Hermione exploded, the lapping tongue working its magic on her vulva, her body still held taut by the ropes that bound her.

Hermione’ eyes shot open in shock as she realised it wasn’t Draco who was pleasuring her. She lifted her head enough to see the dark hair buried between her open legs and realised that the three men were watching avidly as Pansy Parkinson, the girl Hermione had always considered her biggest enemy, had brought her to a screaming, shuddering climax that had her sobbing from its intensity.

‘Girl on girl always makes me horny,’ Draco said, his voice louder but still just as husky. He grabbed Hermione’s face and turned it towards him, and smiled as he pulled his erection from his trousers.  ‘Suck my cock, Mudblood, there’s a good girl,’ he said almost patronisingly, pushing the engorged member towards her mouth.

For a moment Hermione thought about refusing, but the feel of Pansy’s tongue and fingers, which were still playing with her pussy and making her feel incredibly horny, and the realisation that this was all part of Draco’s remuneration for his earlier rescue of her, made her open her mouth as he pushed against it.

As she sucked, Hermione realised she was rather enjoying the feeling of multiple partners, whoever they were, and no longer worrying about how she looked or who was watching she surrendered herself completely to the Slytherin couple.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Hermione wasn’t sure how much later it was that she was finally completely released from her bonds and left lying shattered yet pleasantly sated on the bed. She didn’t really care how long it had been; her entire body and mind were buzzing. She had never encountered anything as intense as the experience she had just been through. She felt completely satisfied and so light within herself that she was sure she could float; if Draco hadn’t been holding onto her so tightly.

Her hand reached out to stroke Pansy’s face, her fingers brushing over the dark-haired girl’s lips as Pansy smiled, her beautiful dark eyes glinting as they stared at one another.

‘Thank you.’ Hermione mouthed the words silently so they were only for Pansy, and the girl winked lazily at her in response.

Draco’s mouth was on Hermione’s throat now, kissing up towards her ear.

‘That was truly magnificent, Mudblood,’ he whispered as his hand covered and squeezed one of her breasts. ‘We definitely have to do this again sometime. I absolutely love fucking you.’

Hermione smiled at this comment, too, understanding the sentiment behind it completely. She had to admit that sexually Draco was amazing. Their lovemaking had been extremely energetic and loud. She stretched her back, arching as Draco’s mouth moved to cover her nipple, before sinking back onto the bed. 

She could still feel where Lucius had given her his lesson in pain and pleasure, the flogger and whip providing the first while his rock-hard and extremely thick cock had driven home the second. It had hurt, more than she had ever imagined it would. The whip he chose once the flogger warmed her up had bitten into her soft flesh but she was surprised at how arousal had stopped her from ending it, although eventually, she had screamed out her safe word, unable to take any more.

Hermione wondered for a moment where Lucius had gone. He had certainly been an integral part of her interlude with Draco and Pansy; apparently not eager to cede her completely to his son and his girlfriend, so she was surprised that he was no longer on the bed or staking any claim on her body.   

With a little difficulty, Hermione turned her head to look at Severus, who was still sitting in exactly the same place he had been when she first joined Lucius, which seemed so long ago now. He was still holding his glass and his face wore a neutral expression that gave away nothing of what he was feeling.

As Hermione imagined what he could see, a sudden feeling of shame washed over her, making her cringe. She had no idea what had got into her to make her so wanton. She had completely forgotten about Severus in the orgy that had overwhelmed her mind, body and senses, giving no thought whatsoever to the lover she was cheating on, interested only in her own desires and pleasures.

Suddenly she felt ashamed and guilty, and she pulled away from Draco and Pansy to lie alone on the other side of the massive bed. She could feel tears threatening as she imagined what her companions must think of her, of how she had betrayed herself by acting the way she had — and with a bunch of Slytherins, of all people.

As she thought about it, her annoyance with Severus began to grow, too. He had happily handed her over to his friends and watched as they turned her into some sort of depraved slut. His betrayal was even worse than hers. 

Lucius sat down beside Hermione and his hand stroked her cheek as he gazed at her tenderly, obviously picking up on her sudden distress and embarrassment.

‘What’s the matter, Hermione?’ he asked quietly, his voice as soothing as his hand.        

‘I feel like some sort of slut for Slytherin,’ Hermione said disgustedly as the enormity of exactly what she had just done began to hit her and all the good feeling she’d had ebbed away.

‘Never that, love,’ Lucius crooned gently. He stroked her hair and smiled. ‘A Slytherin toy, maybe — after all, we’ve all very much enjoyed playing with you — but certainly not a slut. You are far too precious for that.’

 

 

* * *

 

 

The journey back to school was an uncomfortable one. Even though she’d had almost half a dozen wonderful orgasms over the course of the evening and had sex with three prominent, at least in her world, Slytherins, Hermione couldn’t help but be upset with Severus for his treatment of her.

At first, she ignored him, standing stiffly as he wrapped his arms around her to perform the Side-Along Apparition that would take them back to the school gates. Once there she sullenly followed him back into the castle. She was about to part from him to go to bed without saying a word when Snape grabbed her arm tightly.

‘My quarters. Now,’ he said quietly. His voice was like steel, his gaze cold.

With a huge sigh to show she was doing this under duress, Hermione let him lead her down towards the dungeons. Still prickling with indignation at what Severus had allowed Lucius, Draco and Pansy to do to her, conveniently forgetting her own agreement and enjoyment of their attentions, she scowled almost as fiercely as the snarky Potions Master as she entered his study.

Neither spoke as he un-warded the door to his private quarters and ushered her in, re-warding and casting a silencing spell behind them. Hermione looked towards Severus’ bedroom, still not speaking to him. Her mind was awash with thoughts and images of the evening just gone.

_If only he had brought me back here like I wanted him to_ , she thought sadly. _Things would have been okay then. At least—_

Snape’s voice broke through her thoughts. ‘Perhaps you can explain to me, Hermione, why you’re treating me as though I’ve committed some heinous crime.’

Hermione glared at him for a moment. Didn’t he know what he had done?

‘Well?’ His voice was brusque.

‘You know very well what you’ve done, Severus,’ Hermione said unhappily, points of red rising on her cheeks as her anger grew. ‘You gave me to Lucius. And as if that wasn’t bad enough, you then gave me to Draco and Pansy — and you know how much they hate me.’

Snape looked at her coolly for a moment. ‘Do you honestly still believe they hate you after this evening?’ he mused. Then, ‘I don’t recall you complaining about the pleasure they gave you,’ he said evenly. ‘How many orgasms did you have tonight? And I didn’t do _anything_. It was entirely your decision to allow Lucius to play with you.’

Hermione’s face coloured more. Yes, it had been true she had agreed to Lucius, but Severus should have stopped her. She had been drugged or under the influence of the alcohol or something.

‘You should have stopped me, Severus,’ she said unhappily.

‘Why?’ Snape asked with interest. ‘You’re perfectly capable of making your own decisions, Hermione. I don’t own you.’

‘But you’re my—’ she broke off, thinking for a moment — ‘lover. Why would you want to see me with other people?’

Snape shrugged. ‘I was interested in exploring your boundaries,’ he said honestly. ‘And it was fascinating. You could have stopped at any time, Hermione. Everything you did was because of your own desire.’

‘I was drugged or something,’ Hermione said quickly. ‘I’m sure—’

Snape shook his head. ‘No, you weren’t. You were a little tipsy, maybe, and let the eroticism of the party get to you, but there was no coercion, my love. Everything you did was because you wanted it to happen.’

‘Not Draco and Pansy,’ she replied. ‘I was tied up, remember? I had no choice on that. And you didn’t stop them.’ She looked accusingly at Snape.

He gave a soft chuckle and moved closer to pull Hermione into his arms.

‘True,’ he admitted. ‘But then, you didn’t really want me to stop them, did you, Hermione? I mean, you owed Draco for what he had done to save you earlier in the evening, and as for Pansy . . . I mean, all you had to do was say the word and everything would have stopped.’

His lips touched hers lightly, a gentle kiss that Hermione tried unsuccessfully to ignore. But her anger at Severus was already diminishing as he held her, and reluctantly she had to admit he was right. She had felt she owed Draco a debt and his method of collection had not really been a surprise. Hadn’t he hinted as much earlier in the evening?

Pansy had been a surprise, but if Hermione was honest with herself she had enjoyed that encounter far more than she would ever have believed possible. But still, it rankled that Severus had so easily passed her over to the others as if she were some sort of toy. How could he profess to love her and yet do that so easily?

‘Didn’t you care that I was with them?’ Hermione asked, her voice quieter now.

‘To be honest, I actually found it rather interesting — and more than a little arousing.’ Snape was holding her tightly and Hermione could feel the truth of that statement pressed against her stomach. ‘You were magnificent to watch,’ he whispered, his lips finding hers again. His tongue slid into her mouth, capturing hers effortlessly as he guided her towards the bedroom. ‘It was fascinating to see how you reacted to stimulus from lovers other than me.’

His hands were unzipping Hermione’s dress, pulling the soft fabric from her as they continued to kiss. Even after everything she had done this evening, Hermione’s desire for Severus soared as she pulled at the buttons of his frock coat, needing him to be naked under her hands. She wanted to give him as much pleasure as she had already received. As she undid the buttons of his shirt his hands gently stroked her bottom.

‘You really enjoyed what Lucius did to you, didn’t you?’ he asked quietly.

Hermione considered for a moment. Had she enjoyed it? Certainly, to some extent she had; after all, she had come twice. She thought again of the feelings that had rushed through her as Lucius had thrashed her — not the earlier strokes on her bottom, that was little more than the spanking that Severus regularly administered, but when he had whipped her back . . . the pain had been exquisite and almost unbearable and had made her so wet that Lucius had little trouble giving her the first orgasm of the evening. Yes, she had enjoyed it, but . . . there was something about it that troubled her; the fact that she had enjoyed it so much, or maybe it was the fact that it was Lucius who was doing it to her.

‘I’m not sure,’ she replied with a frown. ‘I mean, I did, but . . . .’

Hermione’s hands were on Snape’s trousers now, undoing the buttons as she raced to free his straining erection. Replaying her encounter with Lucius had left her horny again and she needed Severus to fulfil her need.

‘I know you did, love. I could see it,’ Snape whispered as he pushed her down beneath him on the bed. ‘Perhaps I should get some of those toys,’ he added seductively in her ear.         

Hermione shivered. The idea of Severus doing what Lucius had done to her was delicious — and strange. It would be a completely different experience to that which she had shared with Lucius. The two men had completely different styles and she felt differently about both of them. Truthfully she wasn’t sure she wanted her relationship with Severus to go that way. She enjoyed their spanking sessions, but would that change if he explored his more sadistic side with her more fully?

‘Although I prefer spanking you,’ he said suddenly as if reading her thoughts. ‘The pleasure of seeing those beautiful rosy cheeks after I’ve administered the punishment is intensely arousing. I’m not sure I’d want to lose that.’

‘I love you spanking me,’ Hermione replied honestly. ‘But now I just want you to fuck me really hard, please, Severus.’

Snape gave a wicked grin. ‘Anything you desire, my lady.’ His voice was rich and dark, like molten chocolate.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Pansy had been the real surprise.

Since Severus and Hermione had returned to school after the party, Pansy had, like Draco, been less openly hostile towards Hermione, but she found it unnerving that the other girl seemed to watch her as intently as Draco and Severus did. At times the realisation that she was the object of affection of four such strong Slytherins aroused her intensely; at others, it completely overwhelmed her.

She was a rollercoaster of emotions. Trying to deal with what Severus had allowed to happen and what Lucius had done to her, coming to terms with her desire for Draco, and working out what had happened with Pansy were bringing her to the edge of instability. She often found herself shaking uncontrollably or on the verge of tears.

Although Hermione hadn’t completely forgiven Severus for what he had done, on some level she understood his motivation. Draco she knew, although she hated to admit it was pure lust. The boy was undoubtedly beautiful and his desire for her made her own arousal flare in response, however hard she tried not to let it. Lucius, she tried not to think about at all, as that opened up a whole new can of worms that at the moment she had no desire to examine. But Pansy . . . Pansy was something else again.

Hermione spent a lot of time trying to avoid being anywhere near Pansy for several weeks after the party, unwilling to process her feelings towards the dark-haired Slytherin girl. However, when Hermione eventually did encounter her, alone in a corridor on the second floor as she was making her way to Ancient Runes, she was surprised at the shiver that ran through her body at Pansy’s approach.

‘Hermione.’ Pansy’s voice was soft and seductive as she said Hermione’s name, acknowledging her with a small nod.

‘Pansy,’ Hermione replied somewhat tensely, feeling her mouth go dry and her hands get clammy. Shit. What was the matter with her? Surely Pansy Parkinson didn’t really turn her on.

Pansy smiled the lazy, self-satisfied smirk that she and Draco had both been wearing almost constantly since the party and stepped closer to Hermione, seeming to know the reaction she was causing.

‘I was hoping to run into you,’ she continued, speaking softly as she stood close enough to Hermione to whisper in her ear. Her hand found Hermione’s bare arm and her fingers brushed it gently. 

Immediately, goosebumps covered Hermione’s body and she had to bite her lip to stop a small moan of desire escaping. Oh, fuck, she really was reacting to the girl.

‘I was hoping we could get together again,’ Pansy continued smoothly as if she wasn’t aware of the reaction she was causing in Hermione. ‘I so much want to make love to you without an audience to make you self-conscious.’

She looked deep into Hermione’s eyes, her dark brown ones capturing Hermione’s and holding them. Hermione jumped as Pansy’s hand gently brushed her face.

‘We could have so much pleasure, you and me; if you would just give us a chance,’ Pansy whispered. ‘So much.’

Pansy’s thumb ran over Hermione’s lips and suddenly Hermione felt her mouth water, the nervous dryness gone in a second. A moment later Pansy’s lips were on hers, soft and yielding as she opened for Hermione, who slid her tongue inside, searching for and locating Pansy’s.

The two girls pulled closer together, tiny whimpers of pleasure escaping both of them as their arms wrapped around each other and held tight. Their surprise was evident on both their faces as they finally parted. Neither had realised quite how strong their desire was.

‘Meet me tonight?’ Pansy asked. She was no longer cocky, instead, both anxious and hopeful.

Hermione swallowed hard. She couldn’t trust herself to speak but nodded her agreement. Pansy pulled her into her arms once more for another deep kiss.

‘Where?’ Hermione managed, trying to fight the desire to keep kissing Pansy.

‘I know a place,’ Pansy said, blushing slightly. ‘Meet me here at eight o’clock.’

‘I’ll see you tonight, then,’ Hermione said, planting another kiss on Pansy’s beautiful soft lips.

Then, before things could get any more out of control, the girls parted, each rushing to get to her class.   

 

 

* * *

 

 

How Hermione had made it through that day she had no idea. Ancient Runes was the usual intense work, which allowed her to push Pansy and what they had just done out of her mind temporarily, but as the day progressed Hermione found herself hoping she would run into Pansy again just so she could see her, even if only for a moment.

Her mind wandered, caught between imagining what she and Pansy would do, remembering the previous occasion when they had been together, and wondering whether she should tell Severus, knowing she had to talk to him anyway, to warn him that she wouldn’t be able to meet him that night, and he would be sure to ask why.

She was so swept away by her thoughts that both Ron and Harry took the piss out of her for not being with it, wondering loudly what was distracting her so much.

At lunchtime she looked at the Slytherin table, eager to catch a glimpse of Pansy. The girl was there but seemed to be engrossed in conversation with Draco and his cronies, completely ignoring Hermione. For a moment Hermione felt hurt and a tinge of jealousy that Pansy would prefer to talk to her friends rather than look at over at the Gryffindor table to find her. Then sanity returned and she remembered that she and Pansy weren’t friends . . . and they certainly weren’t a couple.

‘What are you looking at?’ Ron asked as she glanced at the Slytherin table for at least the tenth time since they had sat down.

‘Just wondering what that lot are up to,’ Hermione replied as casually as she could. ‘Do you think they’re planning something?’

Ron laughed a little condescendingly. ‘No, I think they’re just talking.’ He looked at his friend. ‘I don’t know what’s the matter with you recently, Hermione. You seem to be letting them get to you.’

‘Are they picking on you again?’ Harry asked worriedly.

Hermione almost laughed. _Yes_ , she thought. _They most definitely are picking on me, but not in the way you guys think_.

She shook her head. ‘I dunno what it is,’ she said. ‘But I can assure you they’re not getting to me, and they’re not picking on me any more than usual.’ Hermione smiled at her friends. ‘In fact, if anything they’ve been a bit nicer than before. Perhaps that’s what’s freaking me out a bit.’

Ron scowled. ‘Perhaps Malfoy fancies you.’

Hermione laughed. ‘Oh, don’t be silly, Ronald. Draco Malfoy, the self-crowned Prince of Slytherin, fancying a Muggle-born. I don’t see it, do you?’

Harry shook his head, agreeing with Hermione, but Ron looked flushed and angry.

‘Well, I don’t think it’s so funny. I’ve seen the way he looks at you sometimes. I bet if he thought he stood a chance he’d be all over you.’

Hermione looked intently at Ron. ‘Please don’t worry, Ron,’ she said, and kissed the boy on the cheek consolingly, smiling with pleasure as she realised that Draco and Pansy had both stopped their conversation to look over at her. ‘I’ll be fine, really.’

The three Gryffindors stood, ready to head for their next lesson, Potions.

‘Are you coming, Neville?’ Hermione asked.

Neville nodded and, grabbing his bag, joined the trio as they left the Great Hall. Just behind them Pansy and Draco followed, carefully watching Hermione as she walked down the hall chatting to her friends.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Hermione was nervous. She still wasn’t sure why she had reacted so strongly to Pansy earlier and she hated not being in control.

_Not true_ , the little voice in her mind said. _You were more than happy to relinquish control to all of them, especially to Lucius_. But this was different. What she wasn’t in control of here was her feelings. And that scared her.

She still wasn’t sure why her body reacted to Pansy; never would she have previously considered being with a girl. But somehow, since the party, the thoughts had been running through her mind. She wasn’t sure if what they had done was a first for Pansy, too. She assumed not as the girl had been confident and seemed to know exactly what she was doing. But of course she was a Slytherin, and they bluffed their way through stuff all the time.

Hermione rounded the corner into the corridor, half scared that Pansy wouldn’t be there, half terrified that she would. The brunette was indeed waiting for her. When she saw Hermione approach the anxiousness disappeared from her own face and turned into a brilliant smile.

‘You came,’ she said excitedly, taking Hermione’s hand. ‘I wasn’t sure if you would.’ She smiled again but this time her nervousness showed.

‘How could I not?’ Hermione said simply, squeezing Pansy’s hand.

Lips touched as they kissed, gently at first and then exploring deeper.

‘Come with me,’ Pansy whispered once they had finished kissing.

She led Hermione down the corridor and into one of the little-used passageways Hermione had never been down. She hoped Ron and Harry wouldn’t have a need to look at the Marauder’s Map or they would wonder what the hell she was doing. A few minutes later found them outside a room that Hermione suspected was somewhere near the Slytherin common room.

Almost immediately upon entering she and Pansy were on each other again, kissing deeply as they removed each other’s clothes. They didn’t speak, but then they didn’t need to. The lust they had for each other shone clear and bright, obvious in the erect nipples that both girls were soon playing with.

‘I wasn’t sure you would want to continue with me,’ Pansy told Hermione honestly. ‘Not when you have the others.’

Hermione gave a loud moan of pleasure as Pansy’s tongue sought out her clit, the soft appendage licking gently and almost teasingly around the stiffening bud.   

‘Ooooh, that feels so good,’ Hermione told her breathlessly. ‘How could I not want that when it feels so fantastic? Oh, god, I love your tongue, Pansy.’

Pansy stopped what she was doing and sat up and stared at Hermione, who was amazed to see that she was blushing at her comment. Hermione sat up, too, looking worriedly at the Slytherin girl as she asked, ‘Did I say something wrong?’

‘I thought you were only humouring me,’ Pansy admitted quietly. ‘I saw how much pleasure you got from Draco and his father and I know what I did made you embarrassed and self-conscious. I really enjoyed it, but I didn’t dare to hope that you did, too.’

Hermione reached out to stroke Pansy’s face. ‘I’m sorry it was all one-way at the party. It was a little difficult as there was a lot going on . . . and because I was tied up and couldn’t move, of course. I loved what you did to me, Pansy, honestly I did. You made me come harder than Draco or Lucius . . . you made me cry because it felt so wonderful. I just hope I can give you some of the enjoyment you gave me.’

Pansy looked surprised. ‘You don’t need to do anything to me. I just wanted you to be somewhere you would feel less under scrutiny, so I could show you that it can be just as good as with a man. I don’t expect you to—’

Hermione cut her off with a kiss, her hand moving down Pansy’s flat stomach and further, fingers finding and stroking her clit.

‘This is definitely not one-sided,’ she whispered once the kiss concluded. She pushed Pansy onto her back and her mouth dropped little pecking kisses over the girl’s small breast, her tongue licking around the puffy nipple.

‘Oh, Hermione,’ Pansy sighed happily as she closed her eyes, submitting herself to whatever was to follow.

Hermione sucked on the stiffened bud, biting it gently as her fingers explored the area between Pansy’s legs. With her thumb rubbing Pansy’s clit, Hermione slid two fingers inside her slick, damp channel. The dark-haired girl moaned loudly and writhed on the fingers. Hermione pushed them deeper, interested in the feeling of Pansy’s muscles gripping and squeezing them.

She released the nipple she had been sucking, and using her tongue she worked her way down over Pansy’s stomach, then further, smelling before she tasted the muskiness of Pansy’s arousal. She flicked her tongue over Pansy’s clit, licking around it as Pansy squealed again.

Hermione withdrew her fingers and spread Pansy’s legs wide as she moved in to lick her slit. She was amazed to find her heart beating faster as she continued to lap at the soft skin, enjoying both the feel and taste of the Slytherin girl more than she had ever expected to.

Now all that mattered was making Pansy come, and Hermione was willing to do anything and everything to make that happen. Her mouth explored the soft folds further, licking and sucking as her fingers rubbed Pansy’s clit and groped once more for her breasts and those now rock-hard nipples.

Pansy cried out for the third time; her hand settled on Hermione’s head, pushing her where she needed her to go and holding her in place as Pansy ground herself against Hermione’s face.

‘Oh fuck . . . oh fuck,’ Pansy kept saying over and over again in a small, breathless whisper.

Hermione plunged her fingers back into Pansy’s sodden vulva, twisting them as she pushed them as deep as she could get. Pansy moved around on them, her cries coming thick and fast as her climax hit, leaving Hermione astonished and impressed as her face was covered in the flood.

Almost instantly, although Hermione tried to stop her, Pansy pulled away to work on Hermione in return; needing to repay the pleasure she had just experienced. Her tongue went to work, providing its usual magic. Hermione lay back and gave herself over completely to the feelings Pansy was arousing her, and she made no effort to keep quiet as she screamed out her joy.

By the time she came she was calling Pansy’s name over and over again, and as had happened the previous time she ended up in tears, overwhelmed by the feelings that flooded her body when her climax erupted.

They lay in each other’s arms, touching and kissing for what seemed like an eternity. For a long time neither of them spoke as they had no need, their repeatedly touching lips saying everything. But as the end of the evening approached, Hermione decided to raise the question she had wondered about since the first time Pansy had gone down on her.

‘I thought you were Draco’s girlfriend. I didn’t know you were into women as well. Is that a long term thing, or—’ She broke off, realising that it sounded more than a little narcissistic to suggest that what Pansy had done with her was the first time as if she was some irresistible creature that no one, male or female, could resist.

‘There was a Slytherin girl in the year above me,’ Pansy said quietly. ‘She knew I fancied Draco — I mean, everyone knew that — but when he was being a real bastard to me she always used to look after me. She used to tell me not to let him walk all over me. Then one day we were alone in the dormitory and she kissed me. It was weird because it didn’t feel anything like when Draco did it; but it felt really good, if you know what I mean, so I didn’t stop her. It went on from there, really.’

‘You must have been annoyed with me at the party,’ Hermione said. ‘With what Draco did and everything. He is your boyfriend, after all.’

Pansy shrugged. ‘Draco and I aren’t really a couple, not properly. Trying to get Draco to stay faithful is an impossible task, and you saw what Lucius’ parties are like, everyone has a go at everyone else. I knew he’d be all over you if he got the chance. I’m just surprised he hasn’t told your friends all about it. I’m sure he’d love to have that one over on them.’

‘I expect Severus had a word with him,’ Hermione said. ‘He couldn’t really say anything without giving away everything else, and Severus would not be happy if Draco told them about our relationship.’

‘What exactly is your relationship with Snape?’ Pansy asked interestedly. ‘I mean, you’re obviously fucking him, but is it just a thing or something more serious?’

Hermione looked at Pansy intently for a moment. ‘I don’t know,’ she admitted quietly. ‘I’m in love with Severus but I don’t know what it is for him . . . and to be honest, since Lucius’ party I’ve got even less idea. I thought he loved me, too, but he won’t even discuss the possibility of marriage — and I still find it a little difficult to understand why he was happy for me to do those things that happened at the party, or why he doesn’t seem to care if I go off with you or Draco.’

Pansy shrugged. ‘It’s just a part of his culture I think. You’ve seen the way Lucius and his friends act. Snape’s part of that and it drives the way he thinks. I imagine he sees no problem with what happened to you as long as you were happy and agreed to it happening.’ She frowned. ‘You _were_ happy, weren’t you? I mean, you weren’t forced into anything? I didn’t think about it before, but you being tied up and everything . . . .’

‘Oh, no, that was my choice,’ Hermione replied hurriedly. ‘I agreed to that. The only thing I wasn’t really happy about was you and Draco turning up while I was still tied up. I know I owed Draco and it was obviously assumed by everyone else that sex would be the payment, but stuck there as I was I didn’t actually get any choice in the matter.’

‘Or with me, either,’ Pansy said quietly.

Hermione grabbed her hand and squeezed it gently. ‘I had no problem with you, Pansy. If I had wanted you to stop I would have said so, and Severus, if no one else, would have made sure it happened. I can’t even really complain about Draco under the circumstances. I mean, I enjoyed it much more than I would have thought; I just wish I hadn’t been tied up at the time so I could dictate the speed of the encounter . . . and I really wish I knew where things stood with Severus.’

‘Perhaps you should just ask him,’ Pansy suggested.

Hermione sighed. ‘I have done, time and again, but all he keeps telling me is that we shouldn’t rush into any decisions about anything . . . that we have plenty of time. He seems to be convinced that once I leave school I won’t want to be with him any longer, but nothing could be further from the truth. For the first time in my life, I’ve actually been dreading the exams coming up because once we’ve taken them school will be over, and if he hasn’t asked me to marry him by then I have absolutely no idea what I’m going to do.’

‘You really do love him, don’t you?’ Pansy said sympathetically.

Hermione nodded. ‘More than anything in the world. But I just don’t know how to convince Severus of that.’


	5. Chapter 5

 

Hermione was disappointed and anxious. She was trying not to cry as she finished packing her trunk for the final time. Today was the last day of school and she hadn't seen or heard from Severus in what seemed like forever.

The project had officially finished the week before with the results being sent to the Ministry of Magic, and since then she had not spent any time alone with him. At first, they were both busy, she with revision for her final exams and he with the extra work he always got at the end of the school year, but in the last couple of days he hadn’t even attempted to talk to her outside of the usual minor interaction in class. In fact, even at mealtimes he rarely looked her way, seemingly more interested in talking to colleagues or engrossed in reading as if he was trying to avoid her.

Hermione had begun to worry that, as she had feared, the reason Severus hadn't asked her to marry him was because he really wasn’t interested. It seemed he had played her for a fool and was now going to discard her, would let her go without even saying goodbye. Everything really had just been a game for him after all.

She brushed away a trail of tears that had escaped and threw the books she was carrying into the trunk. She felt stupid and embarrassed that she had fallen for Severus’ stories. It was clear now that she really had just been a plaything for him in the same way she had been for the other Slytherins, and it hurt. All the plans she had made in her head, all the things she had hoped to do were as nothing now.

For a moment she wondered whether the others had caused his disinterest but she soon discarded that idea. After all, everything she had done was because of him. Regardless of what he had said about it being her choice, he was the one who had given her to Lucius and agreed to Draco and Pansy’s involvement.

But discovering his true feelings still hurt and Hermione didn't want to believe it. A couple of times she considered going to see him, but she knew how snarky he could be when he didn’t want to be disturbed so she didn’t risk it. To lose his love was one thing; to have her final memory of him as being angry, or worse still, sarcastic with her she couldn’t bear.

Hermione threw the last of her belongings into the trunk and checked around the room to make sure she hadn’t missed anything. Then, having closed the lid she sat down heavily on the edge of her bed.

What was she going to do now?

Her original plan had been to go with Severus, to get married and live with him wherever it was he lived when he wasn’t at school, and then go on to college in the autumn. But now that future was nothing but a heartbreaking and unattainable dream.

It was time for breakfast and one of the last chances to see him before school finished. Hermione didn't hold out much hope that he would talk to her — she could count on one hand the number of times he had spoken to her at mealtimes during her entire seven years at school — but at least she would see him, and if she could just catch his eye . . . .

She checked her appearance in the mirror, making sure it couldn't be seen that she had been crying, then headed out of the room to meet Ron and Harry.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Breakfast was a supremely depressing affair. Although Severus was there he completely ignored her, making her heart break once more. Hermione wasn’t sure how she managed to get through the meal.

Although she longed to go and see him she had her pride and knew that making an idiot of herself wasn’t going to help. Instead, she threw herself into her final classes, trying to forget the Potions Master even existed. That sort of worked, until Potions class.

She was accosted by Draco on the way back to the castle from Herbology and he asked her about her plans for the summer and offered her the opportunity to spend some time with him, with or without his father. Hermione agreed to consider it, which seemed to surprise him. Clearly he, too, had expected her to be going with Severus.

Hermione didn’t want to talk to him about it, though, so she apologised and ran off before he could question her further. Once in the Potions classroom, she could feel Draco’s eyes flitting between her and Severus as the lesson ticked slowly by.

That final lesson was pure torture, bringing her so close to the object of her affection but at the same time as good as keeping him a million miles away, too. His treatment of her was no different to the way he had treated her for the previous seven years, and with no questions needing answering, he could effectively ignore her for the entire lesson.

By the end of it, Hermione wanted to scream, but she had also come to a decision. She wasn’t going to cry or get upset at what had happened. Knowing what a bastard he could be, that was probably what Severus was hoping for.

At lunch, he had deigned to look at her briefly but turned away again as soon as she tried to catch his eye. She caught Draco’s eye instead, and he gazed her with a look of confusion. Knowing with a sinking heart that her final chance had gone, she tried to ignore the taciturn teacher, instead, chatting with Harry and Ron.

And now, finally, it was time to go. The Entrance Hall was full of students, laughing and crying, saying farewells and planning meet-ups over the holidays; the leaving seventh formers seeming just a little more subdued than the other students.

Hermione toured the hall, hugging and talking to friends and shaking the hands of those she knew less well. She ignored almost all the Slytherins except for a brief glance at Draco and Pansy and a quiet word with a couple of girls she knew from the Library.

Finally, she reached the teachers and spent quite some time talking to Professors McGonagall and Flitwick. After talking to them she was a little teary, like many of the leaving students, and took a moment to dry her eyes before finally turning to Severus, who stood nearby talking intently to the Headmaster.

‘I want to thank you, Professor Snape,’ Hermione said sincerely, fighting hard to keep her voice light and the tears at bay. Snape scowled, looking as ungracious as ever. ‘I know you’re not the most popular teacher and your methods are harsh, but I really do think I learnt a lot from you. So thank you very much.’

She held out her hand to shake his. Snape took her hand and held it tightly. For a moment she thought — no hoped — that he wasn’t going to let go of her.

‘I am glad you felt my teaching methods helped you, Miss Granger. You have a fine brain when you’re not wasting it on your friends and you have great potential. I wish you well for the future.’ Snape’s voice was guardedly neutral.

Hermione nodded, her mouth set in a tight line. Well, that was it. Severus had just dismissed her as if she were no more than an annoying student. Blinking to get rid of the tears that automatically sprang into her eyes at his words, she pulled her hand from his and turned to the Headmaster.

‘Thank you, Professor Dumbledore,’ she said, forcing a smile onto her face. ‘I’m very much going to miss Hogwarts. I can’t believe seven years has gone already. It seems like no time at all.’

Dumbledore nodded, his blue eyes twinkling. ‘It does go quickly. But you’ll soon be on to bigger and better things, I’m sure, Miss Granger. You are intending to go to college?’ He looked at her expectantly.

Hermione nodded, feeling Severus watching her carefully as she spoke. ‘Yes. I’ve been accepted to several. But I don’t know yet which one to go for. I think I’m going to take a year off to decide exactly which way I want to go with my career.’

‘Very wise,’ Dumbledore said with a smile. ‘I’m sure you’ll succeed in whatever you choose. Good luck for the future, Hermione.’

‘Thank you.’ Hermione smiled again, then turned, not looking back. She headed over to where Harry and Ron waited for her and the three of them, arms linked, walked out of the door of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for the final time.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Snape watched Hermione walk out of the door, his scowl growing ever deeper as with each step she took she walked further out of his life.

He longed to grab her, to pull her to him and tell her that he loved her, but he would never do that, would never open himself up so much, especially not in public. He had hoped she would come to see him; with the project finished he had no official reason to seek her out. But although Hermione had looked at him a couple of times during meals, she hadn’t been to visit.

He finally realised she was obviously staying away because she was no longer interested in a relationship with him, so, to make it easier for both of them, he had taken to ignoring her whenever possible. He suspected Hermione’s relationship with the Malfoys had intensified to such an extent that she no longer wanted or needed him in her life, and obviously with the many varied and interesting choices she had ahead of her she had realised she didn’t want to be tied down to a boring life with a teacher.

He couldn’t blame her, but he had been so sure Hermione really did love him. If only he had . . . but it didn’t really matter. If he had accepted her proposal that day, or asked her himself as he had wanted to so many times, they would still be in the same situation; or maybe she would have stayed with him, unhappy and restless. It was better this way.

‘What are your plans for the summer, Severus?’ Dumbledore asked interestedly once all the students had departed the Entrance Hall leaving only the teachers, who milled about in groups and conversed.

Snape shrugged. ‘Nothing. I did have some plans, but . . . .’ He broke off, looking morose.

‘Don’t tell me you’re going to stay at Hogwarts,’ Dumbledore said waving his finger chidingly. ‘I’m sure that whatever—’

‘Albus, I’m sure you’ve guessed something of my situation,’ Snape retorted coldly, cutting the Headmaster off before he could finish the sentence with some well-meaning and positive epithet that would do nothing but piss him off even more.

He knew the bloody man was aware of everything that went on in the school, so he couldn’t believe for one minute that Albus didn’t know about his relationship with Hermione, however low key they had kept it.

Dumbledore nodded sagely but didn’t speak.

‘Well, as things stand I have no plans for the immediate future, therefore, I will indeed, be staying at school. I shall be perfectly busy, restocking the stores and brewing potions for Poppy. Hopefully, that should put me ahead of the game for once.’

‘Severus, I’m sure your plans can be rearranged.’

‘No!’ Snape said loudly and angrily and ignoring the anxious looks by some of the nearest teachers and scowling even more deeply he turned and stalked off towards the stairs to the dungeons. Shaking his head sadly, Dumbledore followed him.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Hermione, Ron and Harry walked down the track leading to the station with Neville, Luna and Ginny. Ginny was moaning about being the only Gryffindor who was returning to school the following year and complaining bitterly about how bored she was going to be without her friends and family there. Hermione was listening, but only just. Ginny’s problems weren’t really of concern at the moment, and Hermione’s mind was wandering. Ginny was the lucky one — after all, she would be back next year for another year with Severus.

For a moment Hermione wondered if Severus would seduce Ginny the way he had seduced her. She was very pretty, after all, and Severus would probably like her spirit. Would he turn her into a Slytherin toy? A shard of pain slid into her heart at the thought and she tried to shake it away. She didn’t think Ginny was Severus’ type, and surely she wasn’t as stupid as Hermione had been. Ginny wouldn’t fall for his charms.

‘Knut for ‘em,’ Ron said, looking at her worriedly. ‘Are you okay, Hermione?’

Hermione gave a weak smile. ‘Yes . . . I’m just sad to be leaving. Aren’t you?’

Ron shrugged. ‘Not really. I mean, I’ve enjoyed it here, but I’m not sad to be going.’

‘Hermione’s upset at not having all that homework. It must be a real shock to the system,’ Harry said with a grin.

‘Oh, I’ve got plenty to do,’ Hermione told them. ‘I’ve got loads of reading while I decide where I’m going to go to college.’

Ron rolled his eyes. ‘Don’t you _ever_ take any time off?’

‘I am. I’m going to take a year off to decide which career path to take. But that doesn’t mean I can’t do some independent study as well. No wonder you’re so eager to leave, Ronald. You’ve always been lazy.’

Ron shot Hermione a filthy look.

They had reached Hogsmeade station now. The platform was packed with children of all ages, many of them carrying cages that contained owls and cats. At the far end, Hermione espied Hagrid supervising the piles of trunks that were waiting to be boarded into the luggage compartment of the glistening red steam engine that was smoking in the station. He waved at them happily. She and her friends waved back.

She looked around at the chattering people who were laughing, joking and smiling. She really was going to miss this. Not her friends, she would always have them, but the happiness and comfort she had found being at school. And already she missed Severus desperately.

She dropped Harry and Ron’s arms.

‘I’m sorry,’ she told them. ‘I’ve got to go.’

She leant over and kissed Ron on the cheek, then followed suit with Harry.

‘What?’ Ron asked looking surprised. ‘Where are you going? The train will be boarding in a minute.’

‘You won’t understand and I don’t have time to explain, but I have to go and see Severus.’

‘Severus?’ Harry said frowning. ‘You mean Professor Snape?’

‘Yes . . . I’m in love with him.’ She raised her hands to stop all the cries of confusion from her friends. ‘No, look, I _really_ don’t have time to explain it now, but I promise I will talk to you about it soon . . . just not now. I have to go.’

‘But, Hermione,’ Ron said, a shocked look on his face. ‘How can you be in love with the greasy git?’

‘I’ve told you, no time, Ron — but believe me, I am.’

She squeezed her friends’ arms again, smiling, then headed off down the platform where she could see Draco and Pansy standing with their friends.

‘I just came to say goodbye,’ she told the couple hurriedly. ‘I’m not going on the train. I’m sorry, Draco, I won’t be around during the summer. I’m going to marry Severus.’

She moved closer and kissed the boy tenderly on the lips, ignoring the stares and taunts of the other Slytherins.

‘Shall I tell my father?’

‘Please. I will talk to him eventually, but I just want to be with Severus now.’

Draco nodded as he ran his hand down Hermione’s cheek. ‘I’ll miss you, Mudblood,’ he said quietly.

‘And I you, Draco,’ Hermione replied sincerely, with a smile. She kissed his hand before he released her. Then she turned to Pansy and reached out to stroke the girl’s hair.

‘Don’t let him boss you around,’ she told the girl, ‘not unless you’re getting something good out of it.’ She grinned wickedly. ‘Goodbye, Pansy,’ she whispered, and she kissed the girl, too, not caring about the stares they were receiving. ‘You’re special, you know, really you are,’ she told her as they held hands, looking at each other after the kiss had ended.

‘Thank you, Hermione,’ Pansy said with a smile and released her. ‘Good luck . . . and congratulations.’

Hermione smiled back and then made her way back along the platform, completely ignoring the uproar she had just caused.

‘What the fuck was that all about?’ Ron asked angrily.

‘No time, Ronald. I’ll explain that later, too,’ Hermione said breezily as she hurried towards the exit. ‘Have a good journey,’ she shouted back at her friends.

And then she was running as fast as her legs could carry her back up to the school.

 

 

* * *

 

 

‘I really think you should reconsider, Severus,’ Dumbledore said pleasantly as they walked down the dungeon corridor towards Snape’s classroom. ‘You have plenty of time to make Poppy’s potions before the start of term so there’s really no need for you to alter your plans.’

‘Albus, I no longer have any plans,’ Snape retorted acidly. ‘I can think of nothing I’d prefer more than staying here and making potions for the next seven weeks.’ He scowled as deeply as he had ever done.

‘Really?’ Dumbledore asked interestedly, a wry look on his face. They had reached the open door of the classroom. ‘It looks like someone left you a message, Severus.’ He smiled and pointed at the blackboard at the far end of the room.

Written across it in large letters were the words _Severus Snape, will you marry me?_

Snape looked at the words in shock, a cold feeling spreading through his stomach. Hermione must have come down here just before lunch, obviously expecting him to come back to his classroom before she left for the station. But he hadn’t bothered.

Here was the proof that she really did love him and he had missed it and let her go without a single word. Gods, she must have been so hurt when they parted as they had.

He shook his head in disbelief. He had completely fucked up this time. He was a total idiot. And it was too late now for him to do anything about it. She had gone. Even now she would be on the train on its way to London, probably trying to forget that Severus Snape even existed.

Snape turned to Dumbledore, his face a study in misery. ‘Albus . . . .’ He couldn’t say anything more.

Dumbledore patted his friend’s shoulder consolingly but didn’t say anything.

‘So what’s your answer, Severus?’ a small voice asked worriedly from behind them. The two men turned slowly, and in surprise, to see Hermione standing there — hair stringy, red in the face, and breathing deeply as she tried to recover from the long run.

Immediately Snape rushed towards her and enfolded her in his arms, his lips finding hers in a deep passionate kiss before he released her and sank to his knees.

‘Hermione, please do me the honour of becoming my wife,’ he asked sincerely. ‘I love you more than anything in the world.’

Hermione stroked his hair, smiling. ‘Yes, of course I will,’ she said, pulling him up and into another kiss. ‘But you’re not going to go all soft on me, are you?’

Snape scowled deeply. ‘No, little Miss Know-It-All, I’m not going soft. Be assured that I won’t let my feelings be revealed again.’

Hermione laughed and stroked his face. ‘I just love that scowl,’ she whispered.

‘I take it that you will be leaving this evening after all?’ Dumbledore asked Snape mildly as the couple continued to hug.

‘Yes. Hermione and I have plans, things to arrange. If you need me we’ll be at Spinners End.’ Snape smiled at the Headmaster.

‘Have a good holiday, Severus . . . Hermione. And congratulations to both of you,’ Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling brightly. He walked off up the corridor, leaving the couple alone.

‘I thought I’d lost you,’ Snape said as he picked Hermione up and carried her towards his study and the entrance to his private quarters. ‘I thought you might come to see me after the project finished. After all, I had no excuse to come to you. When you didn’t come I thought you had decided you didn’t want to be with me any longer.’

‘I thought you didn’t want me,’ Hermione admitted. ‘And then you ignored me . . . .’

‘I was trying to make it easier for you . . . and for me, too, I suppose,’ Snape told her. ‘I didn’t want you feeling that you had to stay because you felt sorry for me.’

‘I love you, Severus,’ Hermione said, sounding annoyed now. ‘I told you that before. I’ve never felt sorry for you.’

‘I know. I think I just couldn’t believe I really was that lucky,’ Snape admitted as he laid her on the bed. ‘I even thought maybe you had decided to become Lucius’ mistress.’

Hermione laughed loudly. ‘Hardly! I only did that whole Slytherin toy thing for you. Anyway, that’s over now. I told Draco and Pansy it’s over . . . that we’re getting married. He’s going to tell Lucius. So in the future, it’s just going to be you and me — no more “Mistresses parties”.’ She giggled and looked avidly at Snape. ‘I’m so glad you asked me to marry you, Severus. Imagine how embarrassed I’d have been if you had said no.’

‘No chance of that, my love,’ Snape whispered as his lips moved towards hers. ‘ _Nothing_ is going to stop me from marrying you.’


End file.
